As far as you get
by StillSound
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto, have got two pasts they'd both rather forget, criscrossing each others. Of course, now life's a lot easier, since they spend so much time apart. SasuNaru. AU.
1. Chapter 1

This is gonna is my first multi-chapter and it's SasuNaru, but the Taka memebers will be in it too, especially Suigetsu becasue I adore him. Oh, and as for schools having facilities for mentally ill kids, well, my school in CROATIA is advanced enough to have one, and it's not exactly a great school. It's pretty tiny, actually, and in Dubrovnik. So, if my school can have one, so can other schools.

As far as you get

Sasuke leaned against the cold stone of his Konoha High School and lets his black backpack slip over his shoulders and carelessly fall to the ground. It makes a small noise against the black dirt soil and Sasuke doesn't really care about how dirty it's going to get. Its black isn't, it?

Instead, he rummages around in the pocket of his baggy jeans and pulls out a lighter, grimy with dust and a pack of cigarettes. Sasuke pulls one out and looks disdainfully at the box. He's running low. With graceful movements that made girls giggle and blush, no matter how much Sasuke hated them, he lit the cigarette and put it in his mouth, the tip already smoking. Balancing the drug between his middle and index finger, he took one long drag, filling his lungs with smoke.

Breathing out, Sasuke brushed bangs away from his eyes and sighed in irritation. He needed to get these cut. And he didn't have any scissors or knives or anything right now so he'd have to wait. Suigetsu usually had one, though. He needed it for all the fights he got into. Sasuke brushed his hair away from his eyes again and waited for Suigetsu silently, upping the volume on his iPod to drown out all background noise.

He turned his head slowly to the right. There was a basketball court there and a group of Sasuke's classmates gathered around on the sidelines, not there for playing basketball, but just for hanging out, joking and laughing. Sasuke had never understood why they hung out there, of all places. He'd tried to play basketball more than once with Suigetsu there and couldn't because of these assholes.

He took another drag and watches the group more closely, searching for a mess of blonde hair and bright sapphire eyes. Smiling when he found them, he lowered his arm and momentarily cool clean air rushed into his lungs before they were filled again with smoke. He watched Naruto for a few minutes, scowling when he saw the tanned, scarred arm hanging around a slim girl's neck and smiling when Sakura slapped it away.

The idiot was forever trying to seduce Sakura, a girl as colorful as her hair. Karin had griped for hours why anyone would dye their hair _pink _and Sasuke had fond feelings entwined with that memory, feelings of amusement and relaxation as he ignored her and beat Suigetsu at poker. At the end of the day, well, Sasuke couldn't remember what happened in the end, all he remembered was loud Linkin Park music and the pile of coins.

Now, Naruto was telling a story to his group of friends, people Sasuke preferred to avoid. He was waving his arms and Sasuke could hear that loud voice from over here. He was saying stuff like "water" and "magazine". Sasuke supposed it was some prank from the way Inuzuka was roaring and rolling on the ground.

"Uchiha!" a shout came from his left. "Come on, bastard, turn off the iPod, we're already late."

Sasuke rolled his head to the side and found Suigetsu standing there, long silver escaping that black beanie he wore, escaping all the way down to his shoulder. An annoyed expression flickered on his flushed face and he waved his cell phone around sporadically, the purple flashing in bursts of color on the gray walls behind it.

Sasuke frowned and his cigarette twitched in the corner of his mouth. "Late for what?" He had a photographic memory; Sasuke was fairly sure he would have remembered whatever it was they were late for.

"Juugo had another attack." Suigetsu informed, frowning. "It's mild, but he's looking for you. Karin's keeping him calm until we get there." Suddenly he leaned forward and peered over Sasuke's shoulder curiously. The frown disappeared and simple pleasures replaced it with a smile for a minute. "Watching Blondie again, huh? Sasuke, you've got to do something about that. After we go save Juugo and I tell Karin, she'll want to hold a conference or something, you know."

"Well, don't fucking tell her, then." Sasuke snapped irritably, his mood already worse. He picked his backpack off the dirt and let the cigarette fall to into the soil, which he then put out with his shoe. "Let's go." The school had its own special facility for kids with mental illnesses; in Juugo's case, DID-dissociative identity disorder and Sasuke appreciated that, or he'd have to go all the way across town to visit Juugo when he had one of his anger attacks. Suigetsu started walking with him, at a quicker pace than normal.

Sasuke trailed a few paces behind him, thinking of messy blonde hair and a loud voice. He erased that picture then, thinking of Juugo's caring eyes and sweat-soaked skin. The 2 images stood side by side next to each other in his mind, and Sasuke, in his selfish, jealous way, wondered if Naruto would be proud of him taking care of a mentally sick person. Then again, Juugo would hate him if he told anyone about his condition.

Sasuke grunts and starts walking faster, suddenly remembering his previous annoyances. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife, would you?" He asks Suigetsu. "I need to get these fucking bangs out of my eyes."

Suigetsu nods and draws out a common pocketknife, nothing fancy. In 1 swift stroke little clumps of obsidian litter the ground. "You look retarded." Suigetsu comments. "Your hair's all scraggly now. Well, where you cut it it's all scraggly. The rest of your hair did always look like shit, though."

"You're the only one that thinks that." Sasuke says, thinking of squealing girls and jealous boys. "Maybe I'll get rid of some girls this way."

"Some boys, too." Suigetsu chuckled. His voice changes and he frowned at Sasuke's face. "You know, Sasuke, most people would want to have your looks?" Suigetsu answers sarcastically. "Do you have any idea how many people want to sleep with you? Like, me included?"

Sasuke scoffed. "No way in hell I'm doing you. Or anyone besides Naruto, actually." Truth be told, he's never actually thought about sex in which Naruto wasn't present. The word itself was just automatically connected with fantasies of feverish blue eyes, tanned flushed cheeks and coarse blonde pubic hair. And besides, Suigetsu just wanted him because of his looks and it was some sort of game with him, nothing serious.

Suigetsu scowled. "Yeah, yeah, we all know about yours and Naruto's undying love for each other, especially Naruto's who's never _even kissed you." _Suigetsu rolled his eyes and one of his swinging arms hit Sasuke in the stomach. "And, " Suigetsu continued, much louder and not even looking at him, "I'd be on top."

"The hell you would."

"I WOULD, goddamit!"

"Yeah, whatever. Are we there yet?"

*************

The school had never been some sort of great expert on decoration, it was impossible not to notice, walking through their courtyards. They were bare, no trees or bushes or flowers. Just lots of bugs, as far as Sasuke saw. The dirt in front of them seemed limp and uneven, stomped on by too many people too many times. The lack of green seemed somehow much more important here than it should be, right in front of the mentally ill kids' facility. There should be more life, Sasuke feels and wonders when he got so sentimental.

Probably since he met Juugo.

Sasuke isn't really sure how he feels about the whole thing, about how whenever Juugo goes ballistic, which isn't the _official_ _medical_ term the doctors use, which is very long with lots of ys, about how whenever Juugo goes ballistic he needs Sasuke to calm him down, not fancy medicines or some weird sort of therapy or even Kimimaro, who isn't here anymore. Sasuke has just come used to the doctors, his friends and that little but somehow increasingly loud voice in the back of his head telling him it's the right thing to do, and who is he to know what the right thing to do is?

The white doors in front of them, Sasuke can't believe the courtyard is that short, and Suigetsu pushes away carelessly with one white hand of his own and Sasuke is presented with a hysterical nurse, her uniform rumpled and ruffled and she's screaming in his face like some sort of goddamned bird, literally just _screeching_, with no coherent words thrown in. Two hands are flying around her head and little tufts of charcoal hair are escaping what Sasuke thinks might have started off as a bun.

"Hey, hey, Shizune!" Suigetsu manages to raise his voice over Shizune's fucking _birdcall_ and he grabs both arms and leans into his face near hers. "What room is Juugo in?" he asked, attempting to look soothing. Sasuke can't believe what he's hearing.

"He's in 212, you idiot. How do you not know after all the times we've been here?" Sasuke demanded incredulously and he grabbed the back of Suigetsu's purple shirt roughly and uncaring about the nail marks appearing on his white neck. Suigetsu does, though, and he's yelling "Ow!" and other profanities so Sasuke lets him go and runs down the hall, unnerved by Shizune's lack of usually calm and cool demeanor. His backpack bumps rhythmically against his back and slows him down a little bit, but Sasuke ignores it, and Suigetsu still hasn't caught up with him.

He skidded to a stop outside Juugo's room, roars increasing in volume, and wrenched the door open angrily. Fucking Juugo and his fucking attacks is the angry thought he's thinking, but it shrivels away and dies when his eyes adjust to the scene in front of him.

Juugo is in his room, Sasuke's relieved to see-but that's about it for normality. His shirt is wildly torn so much it's not a shirt anymore, just a limp piece of gray cloth, his hair is disheveled and dirty, the orange speckled with some sort of black _stuff, _his pants are ripped as well, not just at the knees like how Karin and Suigetsu like their jeans, but all over so they're pretty much shorts and Sasuke can see a little fuzz of orange at the top. His eyes, and this is the worst part, they're so, so, so wild, so dangerous Sasuke finds it hard to believe one word from him will calm this monster down, the way it always does. Sasuke's photographic memory absorbs this image immediately on sight and later it's one of his nightmares.

"Juugo!" he shouts and Juugo's arms, that are hitting the wall over and over again, to absolutely _no_ effect except his own skin breaking and bleeding stop momentarily, and big, unnatural orange eyes that Sasuke has only ever seen on his forced-on friend seem to flicker a little bit, a tiny, minuscule bit, but then that's how it always works.

Juugo's eyes keep flickering in and out of conscious, the wild side and the gentle side throwing themselves at each other, each trying to gain control. Sasuke waits a few seconds and when the gentle side doesn't win, he starts to worry and desperately wishes for Kimimaro.

"Juugo," he calls out again, his voice lower and more controlled. "Juugo, it's me. _Sasuke_," he stretches the last word, making an effort to pronounce it clearly and slowly. Juugo blinks at him, his bleeding arms useless and dumb at his sides.

Sasuke sees Suigetsu panting toward him out of the corner of his eye and the arm Juugo can't see he holds straight up, palm rigid in the universal sign for stop. Suigetsu nods, understands and stays put. Sasuke turns his full attention back to Juugo. "Juugo," he called warningly. "Juugo, it's _Sasuke_," he repeated himself again, because he was out of ideas now.

Juugo glanced at him, blinking slowly and more slowly still. Sasuke could see distrust building up there, distrust spilling over.

"Juugo," he gasped as a last resort. Why wasn't he going back to normal?! _"Juugo, remember Kimimaro?!" _

Sasuke's head and heart seem to pump and throb with blood and exhilaration as his too-accurate memory spins scenarios of what Kimimaro's name will do to Juugo. There are only 2 possibilities, though, really. Either it works and Juugo remembers and calms down or it's the exact opposite-he remembers and just gets angrier.

Juugo stares at him and Sasuke thinks for a blessed second he didn't hear Sasuke, but then he's charging toward him, big legs propelling him faster and faster toward him and Sasuke panics, naturally, thinking of how his toss-up idea didn't work, but that's all he has time to think, that and something along the lines of _Shit!_, but all in all Sasuke's screwed and he barges blindly to the side, his right side and gets maybe about 1 step when Juugo's arms close around his midsection-

-and do nothing else.

Sasuke freezes, wondering why Juugo didn't try to kill him yet; God knows how many people he tries to hurt for no good reason.

"Juugo?" he says testily, because now that Juugo isn't trying to kill him the danger's past and Juugo's arms wrapped around his torso (and his backpack) feels suspiciously like a hug. "Juugo, get your arms off me."

Juugo, obedient as ever with Sasuke, unravels his arms and they drop uselessly to his sides. Sasuke turns around, stands on his tiptoes and peers over Juugo's shoulder and sees Suigetsu watching the 2 of them warily with one arm on the white-washed wall next to him to steady himself. Suigetsu raises his eyebrows. Sasuke moves his head up and down a couple times. Suigetsu breathes out in relief and walks forward, into view.

"Hey, Juugo," he said tentatively, raising one hand in a hello.

Juugo turns around. "Hello, Suigetsu-san." Sasuke can tell from looking at his relaxed, loose back he's back to normal and embarrassed.

Suigetsu grinned at him, laid-back and easy. "Good to see you're alright and sane. Now if you wouldn't mind getting some new shorts, Juugo, and I'd be very appreciative. I mean, I'm bi and everything, but still, checking out one of my friends is weird."

Juugo blushes uncontrollably, brighter than his hair and hastily hightails into his ripped-apart room, hands covering his groin. Sasuke snorts. "What kind of bullshit is that? A few minutes ago you were trying to get into my pants."

Suigetsu scowls at him and Sasuke can't believe the ordeal is actually over to the part that Suigetsu is being an idiot, which is the same as normal. "You're an exception. The entire world wants to get into your pants, Sasuke."

Sasuke rolls his eyes and Suigetsu glares at him some more. "It's true!"

Sasuke shakes his head, dismissing the matter altogether and thinks of Naruto and his friends on the basketball court. "Wanna play basketball?" he asks Suigetsu, ignoring how it's inconsiderate to Juugo and how he only wants to because Naruto is there.

Suigetsu shrugs. "Yeah, sure, some other time," and Sasuke realizes that Suigetsu thought he meant afterward, when Juugo was alright, Shizune converted back to her normal calm and collected self and all Juugo's furniture replaced. Although…Sasuke stares at the boring wall in front of him without interest and he smirks, struck by a new idea.

Sasuke starts to speak, his mouth forming words: "No, I mean wi-" but he's cut off by Suigetsu.

"Hey!" the swimmer is yelling, inside Juugo's room already. "Hey, where's Karin?" Barely a pause. "Juugo, fuck, where's Karin!?"

Sasuke dashes inside the room, too, remembering Suigetsu's original announcement: _"Juugo had another attack. It's mild, but he's looking for you. Karin's keeping him calm until we get there." _Karin, he thought and felt his stomach lurch in unpleasant directions.

Juugo stood up, shirtless and only clad in new jeans, ones that weren't destroyed. "Karin-san?" he said slowly, not understanding.

Suigetsu's in front of him, jumping up and down in the most ridiculous display of agitation Sasuke has seen in a while. "Karin, Juugo, Karin! She texted my about your attack, that she's keeping you calm until we get there! Come on, where is she?"

Juugo's eyes flashed in remembrance, he gasped and whirled around, running into the bathroom, yelling "Karin-san!" Suigetsu's right next to him, and Sasuke follows, mind racing with pictures of blood-soaked hair and skin.

It's nothing like that, though, nothing that bad. Karin's slumped over the bathtub, glasses off and broken in the tub, hair spread messily just about everywhere and she's just unconscious, with no wound or cut anywhere. Juugo's face is as white as Sasuke's ever seen it.

Suigetsu pushed his way angrily past Juugo and turned Karin's limp face around roughly, so that it was facing his own. He stared at her closed eyelids for a good 5 seconds and Sasuke leaned over the tub, drawing out her glasses. Suigetsu snatched them from Sasuke's hand and balanced them carefully on Karin's nose and ears, rubbing his pale hand over her pale face.

Sasuke glanced at Juugo. He looked devastated. "Karin, Karin," was just about all he could get out, eyes locked on her. "Karin-san, I'm so sorry," he apologized shakily, hands trembling, never mind how Karin couldn't hear him. Sasuke feels a small burst of compassion toward him. Juugo was a nice guy, much better than Sasuke was. Sasuke would not be sorry enough to apologize to someone who couldn't hear him, even if it was Naruto. Juugo, though, it seemed was just too nice.

Not that that would be such an important factor in Suigetsu's mind, Sasuke knew.

Suigetsu crouched even further down and he somehow managed to maneuver his arms around so he could scoop Karin up, bridal style, with her legs dangling off his arms. Sasuke wondered briefly where he had the strength, since he complained for an hour when he had to carry 3 bags.

Juugo moved his bulk out of the doorway and into his room so Suigetsu could get Karin out without bumping him. Sasuke followed him out. "Get her to the infirmary," he told Suigetsu. "I'll go tell all the nurses and doctors that Juugo's back to normal."

Suigetsu nodded tightly. He wouldn't look at Juugo and Juugo could do anything but take his eyes off the two of them, mumbling stuff to himself that sounded like: "Sorry," and "Karin,".

Once Suigetsu leaves, Juugo sits down on the floor since his chair's broken and cries into his hands.

Sasuke does his best to cheer him up, which consists of standing on the other side of the room and letting unfinished sentences hand in the air.

He, Juugo, and Suigetsu don't play basketball that day.

************

Naruto propped his arms up lazily and watched with mild interest as Sakura and Ino shrieked at each other, the 2 of them disagreeing about some homework Naruto hadn't even looked at. There were a lot of papers flying about and Naruto was half-sure one of them would fly away, blown by the wind and then land in some puddle. Then they'd just argue a lot more and Naruto and his guy friends would probably leave, except maybe Lee, who would do almost anything for Sakura. Naruto felt almost bad for him. The guy had the perfect personality to be a slave and would most likely become the victim of some over-manipulative girlfriend.

Sakura, maybe.

The mental image intruded in Naruto's brain and he snickered to himself, thinking of Sakura standing kilometers tall and yelling down and ordering around a centimeter tall Lee, who was forced to carry all her books and do all her homework and stuff like that. Kiba, lounging next to him on his stomach, poked him in the shoulder and raised an eyebrow, asking for the joke.

Naruto leaned in and whispered his prediction and Kiba let out a bark of laughter, not being as discreet as Naruto. Hinata turned his head questioningly toward them for a few seconds but everyone else ignored the two, too used to their dumb pranks and jokes.

Naruto grinned to himself and leaned over to Kiba again: "That was such a funny prank," he classified, thinking of all that water and all those pictures, but most of all, the red-haired girl's angry, sputtering face and furiously pumping legs failing to catch up with them and punch them. Not very original, but still funny.

Kiba grinned at him and said happily: "Hell, yeah."

Ino overheard. "I don't think it was very funny," she sniffed, hands on her hips. "That was a perfectly good magazine, and you idiots had to ruin it. That girl just wasted money because of you two." Ino glared at them for a few minutes, long blonde hair dropping into her eyes.

Sakura glanced at them and nodded. "I agree. Poor girl… Naruto, Kiba, you can really be a jerk sometimes." She huffed at him and a strand of cotton candy jumped up before falling back down.

Kiba smiled, unfazed. "Yeah."

Naruto has much more pride than Kiba, though, and stared. "Weren't you two just screaming at each other? How'd you manage to hear that? And what do you care anyway, it was one harmless prank and you don't even know the girl!"

"I do too!" Ino screeched back. "She's in my English class and she's a little weird, but she's nice enough! I mean, she likes Sasuke so that automatically means she's normal and cultured, unlike A FEW OTHER PEOPLE I could name!"

Sakura backed her up in a second. "Yeah, and, Naruto, if you were paying any attention you would have KNOWN that Hinata explained the homework thing to us a few seconds ago!" She crossed her arms and Kiba howled with laughter next to him.

"Just because a person's in a class with you doesn't mean you know them!" Naruto screamed, waving his arms around him and not quite believing _how_ he got dragged into this. "Do you even know her name? And what's so great about Sasuke, anyway?!" he finished proudly, thinking of 9th grade summer and the times since then.

"Oh, please, Naruto," Ino rolled her eyes, Sakura knowing him too well not to breach this subject too far. "Just because you had some fight with him or something doesn't make him Satan, for God's sake. And on the name thing, I do know hers, but I'm not gonna tell you! I am not an idiot and I see how you pulled that prank on her just because one of you secretly likes her. Well, you 2 are losers who don't even know her name and she doesn't know you're alive! So there!" Ino sat back down triumphantly and began to rummage around in her bug for something.

Kiba finally reacted. "WHAT?! Me? Liking her?! Oh, please, if it's anyone it's Naruto. I'm fucking going out with Hinata, Ino!" he yelled and wrapped one arm around Hinata's slim shoulders, and kissed her deftly on the lips for a few moments, during which Hinata's face flared up.

Naruto turned away from the scene. "Uh. I don't like her either. You're making crap up, Ino. And I've gotta go now, anyway. We've spent, what, 2 hours here?"

Kiba jumped up from his embrace and pulled Hinata up with him. "Yeah, we better leave, too. Hinata, you've got that thingy, right?"

Hinata smiled, blushed and looked up at him. "No, Kiba, its Neji's birthday," she reminded him shyly. "I need to buy his present and meet up with Tenten."

Kiba scowled. "Oh, yeah, that prick. Oh, well, I'll come with you as long as I don't have to do anything." Hinata giggled and whispered: "Okay."

Naruto frowned and stood up, stretching. "Neji's not that bad," he countered. Lee looked up from the conversation he was having with Sakura and immediately defended the material artist, his best friend. "That is very true, Naruto. Because why Neji has indeed been corrupted in the past by his angry memories of winter and hate, he is now most youthful and has embraced springtime, which is the never-ending season of youth!" Lee nodded wisely and Sakura erupted into giggles next to him.

_He's so gonna end up a slave_ Naruto thought.

"Is anyone else coming?" he asked the rest of the group. He turned his head to the left and frowned a little bit. "Think we should wake Shika up?" There, splayed out on the court ever since school had finished, lay Shikamaru, ponytail undone and in a messy waterfall around his shoulders, mouth obnoxiously open.

Ino waved one hand. "You don't need to, I'll wake him up when the rest of us leave. We've still got that homework to finish, now that Hinata's so kindly explained it to us." The last one was directed at him. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"I will stay with Sakura!" Lee announced boldly, eyes glued to her face. Sakura winced away and tried to smile.

Naruto smiled, thinking of his mental image and caught Kiba's eye, who noticed the direction Naruto was looking at and understood immediately, chuckling again. Hinata still looked confused, but she was a good sport about it and silently tugged at Kiba's arm, leading him away from the court.

Kiba waved to the rest of him, hollered "Bye!" and Naruto copied him, waving 2 arms instead of one. Hinata just twittered her hand nervously.

"What bus is it, Hinata?" Kiba asked her casually, arm still slung around her shoulder.

"My fathers is picking us up and dropping us off, remember, Kiba? Naruto, would you like us to drop you off or are you going to take a bus?" Hinata looked at him kindly with nigh-colorless eyes and her eyelashes fluttered against the creamy expanse of her skin.

"I'm taking 7, but thanks anyway." he answered and looked at her with interest. "Whaddya getting him, Hinata?"

"I don't really know yet. Tenten and I had a deal that we'd pool our money for something really expensive and nice, but we don't really know what the expensive and nice thing will be yet. I guess we'll see at the store. What did you get him?"

Naruto's mouth stretched into a wide smile across his face. "Porn. My uncle's porn."

In one, swift, careless motion, Kiba whirled his body around to stare at him and his eyes widened before he broke out into long, bone-breaking guffaws of laughter. Hinata's face skyrocketed into the customary strawberry red.

Naruto laughed too. "He needs it, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Kiba gasped beside him. "He does, oh my God, he really does!" One arm clutched his stomach and he was practically bent over. Hinata giggled a little bit then, one pale hand covering her lips delicately.

"I," Kiba groaned, "Cannot wait to tell Shino about this, this is gonna so be good it's gonna break even his cool. Never mind how he's sick, he's gonna be laughing so hard and coughing so much you won't be able to tell the difference."

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend, way too nice to be completely side-tracked like him. "Let's go," she said softly and pulled him along in the direction of the designated meeting site.

Naruto watched them go, Kiba eventually straightening up and Hinata holding his hand and talking to him in that low voice of hers only select people understood without needing to ask her to repeat herself. He smiled a little bit and felt his stomach lighten at the sight. They made a good couple.

Naruto didn't have anyone like that.

It wasn't just that he didn't have a girlfriend or even a boyfriend since he was bi, but he wasn't interested in anyone. At all. He didn't have a crush on anyone, didn't really specially like someone, the way Hinata and Kiba did for each other.

He didn't have anyone he really wanted to ask out, or anyone he would try like hell to score a goal in front of just to impress, didn't have anyone he would buy chocolate and flower's for and spend a good long hour picking out a present for, the way he knew Tenten would want to do for Neji.

Naruto had felt like this for a while, a while that seemed much, much longer than it really was.

He walked to the bus stop slowly and blindly, with hands thrust deep into the pockets of his favorite orange jacket Sakura and Ino had tried to get rid of, and eyes downcast on the grey pavement and mind splitting between the carefree part of his brain that was saying he had nothing to worry about and the serious part that said how this was unnatural and how he should have felt more than the small bout of puppy love for Sakura in a span of a year.

He slouched his way ever to the stop, leaning against the metal streetlight, the jacket attracting stares from some women and girls, more somber now, since everyone had left and these thoughts had taken over. Naruto did not, as a general rule, function better alone than he did in a group.

He stayed that way for a while, blue eyes closed, instead listening and smelling for the noises and gasoline odors the buses always made. He thought of Neji's party, which was in, what, 3 days, and how that would be like, and how Kiba and Neji would get along or tear each other's throats out. Hinata would have to be the peacemaker, as usual. Her and Lee…Oh, and him.

The thought was not a good one, but then most things tied with Neji and his other friends usually weren't.

Eventually, the great blue bus rolled over and Naruto opened his eyes once he heard it coming, and even when he opened them it was still a good few meters off, such was the noise it was making. He jumped off the streetlight and straightened up, walking over to the point in the pavement when it would stop, and felt a slight breeze rustling his already messy hair. Mentally, he tried to do a few calculations about when'd he have to leave his apartment again to meet his uncle, since the time of actually getting there took a while, his uncle living in the rich part of town. The bus ride to there would be around half an hour, and just waiting for the damn machine…All in all, he couldn't do math standing up. He'd figure it out when he got home.

A chair in the back, black and nearly invisible seemed to call out to him. From this point he could do some people-watching, a hobby Naruto had whenever he was bored. There was no one else in the back lane and he settled down comfortably, throwing his backpack on his feet.

They all had the same hair, the people getting on. Brown, brown, black, brown, oh, look, one blonde, brown, brown, black again…

Naruto bolted upward, and leaped to his feet, bouncing up and down, struggling to get a good look at the guy he'd just seen. He knew that hairstyle, he knew it really well.

_There_.

6 lanes down form him, talking furiously into a black cell phone, was Sasuke.

Naruto stared at him with a sort of fascination, unwanted memories storming his mind now and him unable to stop them, hot and blue memories, of summer and of the beach, and everything that came after it, and those memories were falling autumn, and cold winter, so cold that even the next summer was chilly.

He swallowed loudly, gulping down some spit, thinking of what he should do. Go say hello or just sit here? Although, why should he go say hi to him? He saw Sasuke every day in the corridor and had never said anything, so why should he be saying something on this stinky, smelly bus?

Naruto sat back down with a huff, various scenarios unfolding. Sasuke would see him anyway, he was sure those black eyes would definetly see him when they were getting off…

That's how he spent the ride, huddling in the back, and time passing by much faster that he anticipated.

Eventually, it screeched to a halt and Naruto slowly clambered off his seat, now in full don't-let-him-see-me mode and completely abandoning go-up-and-say-hi mode. Sasuke was already walking down the aisle, still talking lowly but angrily into the cell phone and Naruto was behind him. Sasuke would still see him, though, once they got off…

Breathing evenly, he stepped off the bus carefully, and watched anxiously as Sasuke finally turned his whole body around, the matte black bangs swinging in his face. He saw Sasuke's eyes give the slightest widening, saw the hand in which he was holding the phone tremble a minuscule bit that you wouldn't notice unless you were really looking for it, saw the surprise (not shock) flicker briefly.

Saw Sasuke turn away, mouth still moving and hair still swaying.

Naruto felt something cold and hard settle in the bottom of his stomach and it crushed everything else, whatever it was.

Clutching the insides of his jacket pockets tighter, Naruto walked home, leaves scattering around his feet and Sasuke's last look locked firmly in his mind, as much as he tried to forget it.

TBC

Uh, this is kinda like a prologue or something. A really long prologue. In the next chapter there'll be more Sasuke and Naruto interaction, though, I swear. And I'll try my best to NOT make it the usual cliché high school fic, with Naruto being unpopular and Sasuke being popular or vice-versa. I do need a setting, though, and high school seemed to be the best one. The real plot won't have much to do with it, I promise. Reviews please!


	2. Chapter 2

I have no imagination when it comes to thinking up chapter names. Oh, and I made up Jiraiya's address. 24 Cranberry does not exist, and if it actually does and I don't know about it, well, that's not it. God, I hate myself. I said there would be more Sasuke/Naruto interaction and there's almost next to nothing, like the last chapter. Reviews please!

Chap 2

Sasuke put one hand to his ear, trying to protect the phone from the wind so he that could actually fucking hear what Suigetsu was saying. The angry, anxious voice vibrated into his ear like buzzing bees and Sasuke wondered when Suigetsu had gotten so stupid. He'd been arguing him about Juugo's attack the entire bus ride and had had old people giving him reproaching looks and whispering amongst themselves.

"Karin!" Suigetsu was screaming through the phone. "Karin is goddamned unconscious because of Juugo, Sasuke! How the hell do you not _understand_ that?!"

Sasuke felt cold cement underneath his feet as his frazzled feet and brain struggled to remember where Karin lived. Was it that way, next to that fountain, or…? He turned around impatiently, ignoring Suigetsu's rant. He could go on forever.

Blue and yellow flashed in his peripheral vision and he focused his eyes on that, and felt surprise race through his skin. Blue, sparkling blue eyes set into a tanned face were staring at him intently. Sasuke was seeing Naruto for the second time today. He swallowed, and to his uttermost disdain, felt his hand tremble. He hadn't thought he was that love-struck for the idiot.

He didn't want to see Naruto, not right now and turned away as fast as he could. He'd talk to him some other time, when Suigetsu wasn't screaming in his ear, when Karin wasn't sick and when Juugo and Suigetsu were on good terms.

There was silence on the other line, he noticed and began arguing his side.

"Juugo is like that, you asshole!" he screamed. "Karin knew what she was getting into when she tried to go calm him down! Don't blame me for not taking care of Juugo, because you know I can't, and don't go blaming Juugo, because he was crying about it, for fuck's sake! He didn't want to and he can't control it! And since when are you so sympathetic to his victims, you hypocrite? When he beat up that fat dude, you never gave a shit! You laughed about it!" he finished angrily, knowing full well why Suigetsu was making such a big deal out of it. It was Karin, which was the entire reason. If Juugo had pummeled Sasuke, Suigetsu would not be arguing, screaming over the phone with Karin.

He waited barely a second, determined not to look at Naruto and feet moving towards Karin's house and when Suigetsu didn't say anything back, continued lecturing him about it. "Juugo's already ordered, like, 20 chocolate boxes of her favorite and has 20 roses to go along with it, so that he can give it to her when she feels better, and don't you dare tell me she hates him now. Karin's not like that, I mean, she likes you, for reasons I can't comprehend. She's gonna forgive him, even if he didn't waste all that money on her." Sasuke doesn't bother to mention what Juugo spent on her is more than Suigetsu spends on her in a year. He already knows that.

Suigetsu's voice penetrated. "She's still _hurt_." Stubborn and stupid. Kind of like Sasuke, when it comes to Naruto.

************

Naruto abandoned his backpack on the table, throwing it onto the wooden surface uncaringly. Stupid bag and stupid Sasuke. The comforting thought echoed in his head. _Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke. _It even rhymed.

The cold black eyes were still stubbornly imprinted in his mind. The hard look, moving mouth, swaying bangs and everything else that suggested just how much Sasuke didn't care for him anymore. It was all _stuck. _

Naruto scowled at the wood in front of him. He didn't feel like doing anything today, especially meeting up with Ero-sennin. He could pick up Neji's present any other time, couldn't he? But, his uncle had sounded excited over the phone about something, and had even mentioned a surprise. Some of Ero-sennin's surprises were all right, Naruto would give him that, but most he didn't care for.

Ero-sennin was just the nickname Tsunade had used for him, and Naruto made a point of using it whenever he could, because it was true, and in the beginning he had thought Jiraiya would have been embarrassed. But no, the sick old man was actually proud of the damn title (which translated meant Pervy Sage) and by the time Naruto had figured that out, it was too deep of a habit to let go.

Naruto himself didn't know Japanese, but his parents were Americans living in Japan, before they died. Ero-sennin had apparently been a good friend to them in Japan, but after they passed away, Iruka-sensei became his guardian and took him away from a Japan he'd completely forgotten to America, which was as familiar as it could be. Ero-sennin visited him from time to time, and this was one of them. He was actually staying for 2 months, and even rented out a house in the rich part of town.

Ero-sennin wasn't really his uncle, though that what he usually acted like and what Naruto called him. Naruto didn't have any uncles or aunts. Or grandparents, when it came to that. Iruka-sensei, Ero-sennin and Tsunade were pretty much it. But, he hadn't seen Tsunade since Sasuke got hospitalized, so maybe she didn't count.

Thinking of Tsunade led to thinking of Sasuke, and the rhyme filled his head again. _Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke. _It was childish and silly, but Naruto gained a little comfort from it. He sat down at the table, sighing and letting his hands fall into his face. He'd just call Ero-sennin and tell him that he'd come tomorrow to see the stupid surprise and pick up Neji's present.

Satisfied with this plan, he got up and dialed the number, listening impatiently as it rang and rang. Ero-sennin picked up on the 5th ring and a jolly voice answered: "Hello? Moshi moshi?" In Japanese and English.

Naruto smiled despite himself. Moshi moshi just sounded way too damn funny. "What the hell is 'moshi moshi'?"

"Oh, Naruto!" Jiraiya's loud voice boomed through. "I'll have you know moshi moshi is the Japanese greeting for hello, but only over the phone. Really, boy, you should know this. Your parents spoke Japanese fluently so so can you, damn it!"

Naruto scowled. "But I don't live in Japan. I live here."

"Your point, boy? You need to read my books in its original language. When they translated it into English, they got all the details wrong." Vain as usual.

"I don't wanna read your perverted books, Ero-sennin," Naruto snapped.

"Why not?" Fake hurt oozed. He'd heard this so many times before.

"Because they're crap." Naruto growled irritably and skipped ahead to the real problem. "Look, Ero-sennin, I don't really feel like coming over today. Can I just come tomorrow to get Neji's gift and get your stupid surprise? I real-"

He hadn't even finished his fucking sentence and the stuck-up writer was already yelling in his ear: "The hell you can't Naruto! I have to show you the surprise today because today is the only time in world it's gonna happen! You idiot, boy, do you have any idea what great of an opportunity this is?! And no I'm not going to give away my books for that friend of yours on another day, do you have any idea what a wonderful offer this is! I'm giving them away for free! And I'm not going to lose a reader when you start telling me every day you'll pick it up tomorrow and never actually show up!" Heavy breathing was evident on the other side.

"What kind of bull was that?" Naruto grumbled back, unaffected. Ero-sennin got this way. "Fine, I'll come over for your damn surprise. When do I have to be at your house?"

A huff. "Glad you've seen the light. 6 o'clock, boy. Don't be late." He hung up.

***********

Sasuke entered Karin's house the way he always did, her parent's staring at him and watching his every move. They had some sort of delusion that the real reason Karin was usually with Sasuke was because she liked him and he liked her back. Thus, there were often eyes following him around the house whenever he visited, which he generally tried to avoid. Karin's rich, big, expensive and well-furnished house reminded him too much of his own. Now, though, everyone (Suigetsu, mostly) was freaking out of her fainting and she was imprisoned in her bed, so Sasuke had no choice.

He climbed the red-carpeted staircase to the second floor, bypassing the one that led to the third floor and walked to Karin's door with her parents still dogging his steps. Sasuke generally had authority issues and had no idea how to get rid of these people. And he didn't know what story Karin had made up to cover up her injury, so if they asked he was in deep shit.

He turned around, thinking of those sit-coms Juugo watched. "Um…I'm kinda thirsty. Can I have some water?"

The 2 heads bobbed up and down eagerly, anxious to please Karin's supposed crush. They flew down the stairs, the woman in high heels, faster than Sasuke would have thought possible.

He pushed the door open and walked in and the first thing he saw was Karin in an unaccounted for mess. Her glasses were smudgy and greasy, she was in her Hello Kitty pajamas that no one else had ever seen and her hair was one big wet mess of red seaweed. She was sitting on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest and head resting on them. Suigetsu was sitting next to her, flipping channels on the small TV.

"Hey," he greeted.

Then: "What the hell happened to your hair?!" Karin was staring and pointing.

Sasuke scowled. Trust girls o be worried about _hair_. "I cut the bangs off. They kept fucking falling into my eyes."

"Cut 'em off with what?! And when did you have time to go to a hairdresser? I saw you in school this morning with bangs!"

"He borrowed my knife," Suigetsu elaborated.

"WITH A KNIFE!?"

"Yes, Karin, with a knife."

"But, but, but you looked so good like that! And now you look horrible!"

"That's the _point_, Karin," Sasuke groaned. Girls were so dumb sometimes. "I want to look horrible."

"WHAT?! WHY?!"

Suigetsu looked up. "He wants to get rid of girls."

Compression dawned. "Oh. Well, Ok."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is Suigetsu still an idiot about Juugo?" Some time with Karin might have quelled his rage, but he remembered the phone conversation and found it hard to believe.

Karin started shouting, arms waving and yelling. "Sasuke, Sasuke, please tell this moron that Juugo can come over. _Please_. He's being such a baby about it. And he didn't even get hurt. _I_ got pummeled."

Sasuke dropped the backpack on the floor. "Who's he? Suigetsu or Juugo?" Suigetsu glared.

"Suigetsu, of course. Juugo's just nice." She turned. "Something you could try being," to Suigetsu.

"You feeling better, then?" Sasuke asked, moving over to the bed.

Karin followed him, nodding vigorously. "Much better. When's Juugo coming over?"

"I dunno."

"Well, didn't you talk to him?"

"No. Look, he'll come tomorrow, okay? You know he bought chocolate for you?"

"Really!? For me!?"

"Yeah, like 20 boxes. Oh, he got flowers too. He's really sorry." Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eye to Suigetsu. He looked the same, eyes fixated on the TV.

Karin is much less discreet. "Aren't you going to say something, Suigetsu?!"

"No."

"Prick."

"Bitch."

Sasuke sees were this is going and intervenes. "Your parents still think I'm in love with you," he objected to Karin, staring pointedly.

She blushed. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" A pause. "You aren't, are you?"

Suigetsu snorted. "Hell, no. For one thing, he's gay. And don't you know he's still mooning over Blondie?"

Karin, surprisingly, didn't start another shouting match with Suigetsu. Instead, she turned to Sasuke, hands on her hips. "You still haven't done anything about Naruto?" Her eyes were narrowed in the usual way, the way they always were when Suigetsu informed her of Sasuke's latest (un)progress.

Sasuke glanced away, uncomfortable. It's ridiculous, he knows. 4 months gone since he started noticing Naruto in _that_ way, and nothing done about it. The first 3 months he tells itself it's alright because of their summer and the tempers that brings back, but now it's ridiculous. Ridiculous and pathetic.

And their past isn't really that dramatic anyway, he thinks too himself now, standing in Karin's bed. Of course it wasn't that dramatic now. 2 years ago, it was terrifying. Naruto had cried in plain sight, in front of everyone. Sasuke had cried too, but much, much later, where no one had seen him.

White sand and white clouds. White walls and white skin. Sasuke only didn't shudder after 2 years of forcing himself not to, telling himself how weak he looked that way. Not that Tsunade had ever agreed. The damn psychiatrist was always preaching about how he should be 'letting it out' and 'expressing his feelings'. White walls and white skin, he'd never tell anyone about them. Except Naruto, who maybe already knew.

Karin was still talking. "Although, I think you could do better than Naruto."

Suigetsu glanced up. "What's the sudden dislike for Blondie?" Sasuke kept his eyes on Karin, waiting for the answer.

"Do you know what he and Inuzuka did today!?" Karin exploded. "I was doing nothing, alright, nothing. Absolutely nothing except reading my magazine when-"

"That's something." Suigetsu put in.

"Stop interrupting!" Karin shrieked at him. "Look, I wasn't doing anything when Naruto and Inuzuka come up and spill water on my head and all over my magazine! I paid for that magazine, you know! And now it's ruined! And my hair was a mess. And when I tried to run up and punch the 2 assholes, they fucking got away!"

Sasuke smirked, remembering the basketball court and Naruto's voice floating over to him. 'Water' and 'magazine'. Suigetsu rolled his head back to the TV, unsurprised.

The door opened without warning, slow and creaky. Karin's mom entered, teetering on high heels and carrying a tray with water, cookies and fruit on it. Sasuke watched the apples, bananas, and chocolate chips unbelievably. He'd asked for _water_.

Suigetsu raised his eyebrow. "Wow. Is that for me?" He was already moving off the couch.

Karin's mom sniffed and her broad smile fell a little, and it was so obvious she didn't want to deal with this lowlife orphan, but wanted to reward and praise the rich orphan, the one with all the money and who was supposedly in love with her daughter. Sasuke took only the water and Suigetsu devoured the rest. Karin watched, lips pursed.

"Thanks mom, that's good. You can just leave it here," Karin spoke up when Suigetsu had had 2 cookies and 8 were left. Karin's mom, nodded, beamed, and obeyed.

The moment she was out the door, Karin spoke up. "I don't know why she hates you," she complained to Suigetsu. "She's nice to all the other homeless people we find on the street-"

"Hey, I'm not homeless!"

"You're poor, it's the same thing! As I was saying, she's nice to everyone on the street, but she doesn't like you for some reason," Karin growled, with a cookie in her mouth.

Suigetsu shrugged. "I don't care."

"I know you don't care. _I_ care."

"Well, you figure it out then."

"You little piece of cra-"

"I'm gonna leave," Sasuke spoke up. He'd forgotten how exhausting it was, being in the same room as these two.

"I wouldn't mind," Suigetsu mumbled.

"I would, so shut up!" Karin yelled.

"Yeah, I'm going," Sasuke said and got up from the bed, stretching. From experience, he knew these two would go through the same argument 15 times in one hour.

"Great, now you made him leave, you're wonderful, you know that? Are you even listening to me?"

"I made him leave, what the hell did I do? You're the one who started the whole damn argument."

"I did fucking not!"

"Hey, what's the story you told your parents?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the fight completely.

"That I fell." Karin answered.

"It's so original, isn't it, Sasuke? I never knew we had such a genius amongst us." Sarcasm oozed from Suigetsu's mouth.

"Look, dumbass, I couldn't come up with anything better and you didn't have any ideas either!"

"I wanted to actually tell the truth!"

"What truth is that? That Juugo did it? He didn't do it on purpose and you know how my parents would freak!"

_Bing, Bing, Bing!_

Heads turned to the direction of Sasuke's backpack, still on the floor.

"That's the most boring ring tone I've ever heard in my life, Sasuke. I told you a million times to change it. You sound like an old man."

"Yeah."

"I don't care what it sounds like," Sasuke snapped at them. "It works, doesn't it?"

He dug out the black phone from the black bag and his guardian's black number flashed across the screen, along with his guardian's name. He wasn't much of a guardian, though, and Sasuke had no idea exactly how they were connected by blood and why the court picked him of all people. Kakashi didn't even live in the Uchiha Manor anymore, ever since Sasuke learned how to cook worth a damn.

Karin and Suigetsu began to argue again, although in lower voices.

"What do you want?" he asked, one hand deep in his pocket, digging around for a smoke, and frowning harder when he found none.

"Talk with more respect to your elders." Kakashi's voice answered.

"So you admit to being old, then?" Sasuke smirked. Vain Kakashi with his grey hair and porn books who insisted on being 30.

"I'm older than your scrawny 17. Now, listen, brat. You're coming with me to Jiraiya's-"

Sasuke's mind buzzed and his photographic memory reminded him with surprising clarity the cover of Kakashi's ridiculous porn books, that trash Icha Icha Paradise, and its paperback cover proudly displaying By Jiraiya! in bright yellow bubble-letters.

"-t 6 o'clock, so don't be late, this is a real privl-" Kakashi's voice, oblivious to Sasuke's musings continued to pour through the phone.

"Is that that porn writer?" Sasuke interrupted, checking his other picket for smokes. What did he do with them? Suigetsu froze, looked at Sasuke with surprise and grinned that unnaturally sharp grin of his, mouthing 'porn?'. Karin poked him impatiently, obviously having missed Sasuke's words.

"Don't interrupt, but, yes, it is. Now, did you hear me? 6 o'cloc-"

"Why am I going?" Sasuke growled. Where did Kakashi get these idiot ideas? Suigetsu was finally answering Karin's poking and was whispering in her ear about Sasuke's conversation. Karin's mouth hanged more and more open.

"Because, I haven't seen you in a week. Didn't you miss me at all while I was in England?" Kakashi sounded pouty and childlike, like the way teenage lovers talked to each other.

"No."

"Well, anyway, he's having a party, and all the fans and fellow writers are invited, including me. And, we actually get to have dinner with him, so it's a real privilege. Do you know why we get to have dinner with him?" Kakashi boasted.

"No."

"Because I knew a friend of his. Have I told you about Minato, Sasuke?"

"Yes." The dude was some teacher and friend of Kakashi's, or used to be. He was dead now.

"Well, Jiraiya knew him too, and we want to catch up together, you know, old times. I was on his facebook page and he had stuff about Minato, so I got in touch with him and told him about how I knew Minato, and now we're invited to his party! And I'm going to meet his son. I never even knew Minato had a son. This is really lucky, you know, Sasuke!?" Kakashi made him sound like the Pope.

"So I why am I going?" Sasuke didn't get how this was happening. He'd had his whole day planned out as knock some sense into Suigetsu.

"Because I haven't seen you in a week! And you might actually start appreciating the brilliance that is Icha Icha!" Kakashi had never sounded more like an old perverted man.

Sasuke didn't answer, just looked at the clock on Karin's wall. It was 5:30. He had to be there in half an hour. "I have to be there at around 6, right?"

"Yep. The address is 24 Cranberry lane. Don't be late." The phone clicked off.

"What porn writer?" Suigetsu demanded immediately, the too-sharp grin still grinning.

"Yeah, what porn writer?" Karin asked, looking somewhat bored. "Is your crazy guardian back?"

Sasuke stuffed the phone back into his backpack and plunged his hand into his jacket pocket, still looking for cigarettes. "Yeah, and the porn writer is some idol of his he thinks I'd love to meet. He wants me to go over to the guy's house at 6."

"Does he write gay porn?" Karin asked, brow furrowed.

"I don't think so. Just het." Sasuke answered. He checked his back jeans' pockets. Nothing except denim.

"Are you going?" Suigetsu asked, eyebrow raised.

"Hell, no. Suigetsu, do you have my cigarettes?"

************

Naruto stood inside Ero-sennin's vast entrance hall, smiling uncomfortably at all the weirdos passing by. Ero-sennin was in the bathroom or something, and without the stuck-up old man to argue with, Naruto's attention wandered to everyone else in the vincity. Most of them were men and Naruto saw maybe only 3 girls altogether.

And the men were weird. Not like crazy-weird, just weird-weird. Most men were like Ero-sennin, old and no sex life except hookers and whores, Naruto could tell from just a glance. There were some deranged younger guys, too. Not really, really, young, but like 30 and 40-young, still not old enough to actually completely be deprived of women and forced to read shit like Ero-sennin's. Every single one of them, every damn person had all 3 of Ero-sennin's book either in their hands or thrust into pockets, and that's all Naruto needed to know how crazy people were.

He leaned against the wall with another huff.

He had not been expecting this sort of surprise. It was one of Jiraiya's stupid parties and while had gotten Neji's presents (autographed) he had been forced to stay longer. Ero-sennin had promised he could leave at 7, but it was only 6:30 now and Naruto was dieing. And on top of that, Naruto knew for a fact that Ero-sennin would make him stay longer, as had happened way too many times before.

Naruto glanced to his right and whipped it around back to straight again, scowling. Another 2 weirdos, clutching Ero-sennin's books and practically _squealing_ and _cooing_ over it, like they were fucking girls. Weirdos.

Naruto sighed again, letting his head fall even further back against the wall and he averted his eyes up to the fancy chandelier on the ceiling. Shadows danced on the walls.

An explosion of white caught the corner of his eye and Naruto lowered his head back down and to the right, and there was his weirdo uncle talking with his two weirdo girl-fans. Jiraiya's ridiculous, enormous, white ponytail that he thought was the height of fashion fell into his eyes as he pointed to something on the page and his eyes shined with maniacal gleam. To Naruto's eyes, anyway.

"Hey!" he yelled, pushing himself off the wall. "Hey, Ero-sennin, what am I supposed to do here!? I'm bored!"

Jiraiya glared at him over the person's shoulder and he marched over to Naruto quickly, grabbing him by the ear and whispering into his ear harshly: "Listen, boy, do not embarrass me like that in front of fans, Ok? As soon as I'm done with these 2, I'll find something to show you. You know this would be a perfect opportunity to read my book?" It was the 6th time he'd suggested that this night.

Naruto crossed his arms and glared. "Hurry up," he growled and went back to sulking. Jiraiya bounded away.

Naruto sighed, eyes downcast. Sasuke's last look had been on his mind all day, and he hated the bastard even more because of it. He really did. Those black eyes and pale fingers wouldn't disappear.

Naruto threw his eyes up, bored. He tried to find someone normal, and just frowned and scowled more and more as more freaks came in. This one dude, for instance. His hair was the most fucked up thing Naruto had ever seen, including Jiraiya's, Sakura's and Lee's. It was grey, boring grey and shooting straight up in a tower of hair. And as if that didn't make him stand out enough, there was a goddamned mask covering everything except 1 eye. It was an uninteresting eye, grey like his hair, but everything under the mask suddenly Naruto wanted to desperately know what it looked like. He supposed this was the whole point of the mask, and mumbled 'idiot' to himself for falling for such a dumb trick.

And now Ero-sennin was walking over toward him. Figured, his crazy uncle going to the strangest guy here.

And there they were, hugging each other like long-lost lovers, though Naruto had never ever seen or heard of this guy. Oh, and crap, now Ero-sennin was waving at him to come over. Great, fucking great.

Naruto walked over, feigning a smile. "Hi," he said to the grey dude.

The guy moved his head up and down, face hidden and giving away nothing. "You're Minato's son?" he asked curiously.

Jiraiya beamed. "He is."

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um…what…" The guy came all the way to Ero-sennin's stupid party because he was his Minato's son? He must have known his dad or something.

"Naruto," Jiraiya bumped in. "This is Kakashi Hatake, a good friend of your father's. Minato was his teacher."

Naruto was lost. "Teacher in what?" As far as he knew, Minato hadn't been some great expert in anything, but, then again, Naruto didn't know a whole lot about his dad or mom.

"In various things," Kakashi answered. His eye watched him intently. "Naruto, you look familiar. Do you know my son?" A small movement underneath the mask and Naruto couldn't tell if he was frowning, smiling, or smirking. "Well, not my real son, my legal son. Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto stared. _Sasuke's dad. _Suddenly, he felt very sorry for both Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke for having to live with this nutjob and Kakashi for having to live with Sasuke, who was worse than a nutjob. He smiled shakily. "Yeah, he goes to Konoha High with me."

Kakashi studied him thoughtfully. "That's it, then. You know, Naruto," he leaned in close. Jiraiya leaned in closer. "I think my boy likes you," he said, smiling.

Naruto stayed the same, not comprehending. "What?"

Jiraiya frowned. "That emo-looking kid with the duck butt who smokes?" He asked Kakashi.

Kakashi laughed. "That's Sasuke."

Naruto gaped. "What the hell do you mean he likes me?!" His thoughts flashed to the bus encounter. Sasuke hadn't given him a second glance, hadn't even stopped for a second to look at him. And 2 summers ago…Naruto didn't want to think about that. Sasuke didn't have a choice then, he reminded himself. But, besides all that: "And whaddya mean, Sasuke smokes?!"

Kakashi shrugged. "He smokes, I tried to get him to stop, it didn't work." He turned to Ero-sennin. "Has he come here yet?"

Ero-sennin shook his head. "He's coming?"

Naruto jumped. "Whaddya mean, he's coming?!"

Kakashi sighed. "He was supposed to. Little shit is probably with at home, lounging on the couch watching TV." He glanced at Naruto. "Although, I stole his cigarette stash back home, so he's probably gonna show up any minute now, demanding them back. You'll see him then, Naruto."

Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "How does he know you took them?"

"I left a note."

"He likes me?!" Naruto repeated again. The idea was so strange and Naruto's teenage mind rocketed. Sasuke, Sasuke liking him, Sasuke kissing him, Sasuke doing _things_ to him…Naruto blushed. Sasuke coming here. _Now_.

No way. No way in hell. Kakashi was delusional, like so many other people here.

And, besides, Naruto hated Sasuke and Sasuke hated Naruto. It was the law of the universe.

He swallowed thickly. Sasuke didn't like him. Or maybe he did. But Sasuke would still be here.

Naruto swiveled his head around to the door. He glared at the poor door, willing it with the full extent of his Star Wars induced make-believe physic power to Not. Open.

Of course, it opens in 12 minutes and 13 seconds. Naruto knows. He counted.

Sasuke entered the room with all the anger of a junkie having his drug stolen; the sort of crazy, desperate sort of anger Naruto sees on cop shows, but the anger on Sasuke was much more subdued, much less noticeable. He was walking quickly, hands thrust deep into pockets and a murderous look on his face and crazy, absolutely crazy angry eyes.

Kakashi saw too. "Ah, I'm going. Good luck, Naruto." He ran away. Ero-sennin followed him with a sympathetic look on his face, directed at Naruto. Naruto couldn't believe this was happening and Sasuke was coming closer and closer.

Goddamnit! He was not going to get set up by 2 perverted old men!

Naruto turned to run. Where the hell had Ero-sennin and that weirdo Kakashi gone…?! One leg stepped in front of the other in a random direction and the other was mid-step, when one arm, pale and strong, grabbed his own arm and yanked him back to his first position. Naruto twisted around and Sasuke black eyes and white face were right in front of him.

"What are you doing, here, dead-last?" The old nickname stung and it was the sort of tone that made Naruto want to punch the bastard's head in, screw Kakashi's ramblings.

He yanked his arm back and glared back. "None of your business, bastard."

Sasuke scoffed. "You read this shit?" His hand had let go of his arm.

Naruto bristled, offended. "No! My uncle's the author, jackass! He dragged me along!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, something Naruto had always hated, 'cause he couldn't no matter how much he had practiced. "Nice uncle," he said and Naruto lost all faith in Kakashi's idea. Sasuke hated him and was a bastard, just like he had always been.

The hypocrite, he had a father, or legal father or guardian or whatever, just as bad as Ero-sennin! Naruto fully intended to point this out, and he did so. "You've got a dad, or guardian or whatever that's just as bad, asshole! And Ero-sennin isn't my real uncle, I just call him that!" Naruto stood on his tiptoes to try to make himself look taller.

"Kakashi isn't my real dad, either, just my guardian who doesn't even live in the same fucking house as me anymore, just steals my smokes." Sasuke answered coolly, with none of the fury Naruto was feeling shown on his face. "And how do you know he's a pervert, dead-last?"

"Because I saw him 10 seconds ago!" Naruto had no love for Kakashi, making him meet Sasuke like this, and he'd be damned if he was gonna cover for the pervert.

"Where?" Sasuke demanded.

"Here."

"Where _here_?"

"I dunno where here, he was standing right next to me and then he went somewhere!" Naruto shouted. "And since when do you smoke, bastard?"

Sasuke looked annoyed. "You're wonderfully informative; you know that, dead-last? I know exactly where I'm supposed to go now, since you helped me so much."

Naruto gritted his teeth together. "You didn't answer my question, bastard. When did you start smoking?"

"I don't know. 2 years ago, maybe. What do you care?" Sasuke's eyes were locked on his, and had a sort of intensity to them. He wanted to know why Naruto cared, Naruto knew. He wanted to know, and wanted to argue and challenge him.

Hot words shoved and pushed eagerly inside Naruto's mouth to get out into Sasuke's ears, but they were the sort of split-second, don't-think-before-you-speak words that would only remind both of them of summers past and neither Sasuke nor Naruto wanted to hear that. Instead, he thought up much more simple words: "Go to hell, bastard."

"Only if you come with me." Sasuke was leaning on a table behind him, his head was thrown back and his hands were gripping the table behind him, and all in all it would make any girl faint and Naruto had no clue what it was supposed to be. He stood there, stammering and choking out breathes of air, not understanding how they had gone from arguing to whatever the fuck this was.

Sasuke smirked, a I-know-what's-going-on-and-you-don't smirk, leaned in and put his head, his lips, right next to Naruto's ear, whispering: "I'm gonna see you tomorrow, dead-last."

Naruto stared at nothing and Kakashi's voice echoes in his head. 'I think my boy likes you.'

No. No way in hell.

Sasuke's arm pulled at his (again) and Naruto's head made the mistake of snapping up, right into Sasuke's face. Right into Sasuke's perfect, beautiful face and his treacherous, beautiful eyes. Eyes that were right now very close.

Naruto tried to sound badass and so-what-ish, he really tried, but instead it came out uncertain and shaky, like he was some boy in puberty. "What?" he stammered.

Sasuke's eyes stayed where they were.

Eventually, he whispered: "Nothing."

Naruto moved away, relieved, wanting nothing more than to go scream at Kakashi.

"Except," the smoker started again. "Your scars. Where'd you get them?"

TBC

Um, is this too weird a place to end a chapter? Well anyway, I said there would be more Sasuke/Naruto interaction, but, that, uh, didn't happen. There's what, 2 pages of them? Look, the entire next chapter is gonna be all them, I swear! Don't hate me! And reviews please!


	3. Chapter 3

A really long Sasuke/Naruto heart-to-heart in here. This'll clear up some of Sasuke's and Naruto's past, but not a whole lot. I do want to keep some mystery. It might seem like this is the whole story, but, believe me, it isn't. Reviews please!

Chap 3

Naruto's mind buzzed. _What scars?! _he screamed inside his head. Sasuke was still watching him, much more carefully and Naruto was accurately aware of that, of everything Sasuke was doing. The way his eyes were narrowed so much they looked like a snake's, the way his fingers were impatiently tapping on the table behind him and how his entire posture was tense and expectant.

"What scars?" Naruto demanded through clenched teeth and stiff shoulders. He had too many to know which ones he meant, and how the hell did Sasuke know about any of them anyway? He'd gotten all his when the bastard went away.

"The ones on your face." Sasuke said, cool and calm and in all his Sasuke-Uchiha-batsardness. "The ones that look like whiskers."

Naruto raised a hand to his face instinctively and traced them almost subconsciously. His fingers roamed over the faint, faded thin lines, experience and memory guiding them, like he had done so many times when he first got them. Something angry and reckless bubbled out of him. _Why did Sasuke care?_

"None of your business," Naruto snapped. He seemed to be saying that a lot, when Sasuke was considered. "Why do you want to know?"

"They're familiar," Sasuke answered strangely. How the hell could scars be familiar?

"How the hell can scars be familiar?" Naruto demands of him, feeling them on his skin much more than he's felt them in years. The hair-thin lines now seemed as bright and conspicuous as bright lights and loud music. _Why did Sasuke care?_

"Who gave them to you?" Sasuke growled. "Dead-last, it's not that hard of a question." All his easy, cocksure romance was gone. Kakashi's statement seemed miles off, again.

"How do you know someone gave them to me?" Naruto asked hotly, ignoring how it was true. _Why did Sasuke care?_ "I could've, I dunno, fallen somewhere!"

"And get these lines? By falling? They were done with a knife, idiot. I know what knife cuts look like." Sasuke scoffed, voice not raised at all. If anything, it was quieter. "So who did it?"

"Why do you care?!" Naruto shouted, furious and frightened.

Silence descended.

Naruto realized, with a growing lump in his throat that everyone was looking at them, drawn by Naruto's shouting and while usually Naruto loved attention, now was not one of those times.

"What are you looking at?!" Naruto yelled to them, feeling his cheeks burning,

Sasuke glanced around, grabbed his arm for the third time and headed for the doorway immediately, intending to leave. Naruto agreed wholeheartedly, but wasn't about to let himself be _dragged_ there. He yanked his arm away and hissed to Sasuke: "I can walk, bastard." He could have been talking to a rock.

They were outside in seconds, and it was much, much colder out here than it had been inside and Naruto had left his jacket inside, but he wasn't going back in to face Ero-sennin's angry voice and red face. He could just come by tomorrow. Naruto's teeth rattled against each other and he jammed his cold hands into jeans pockets. The bastard next to him wasn't even shivering, Naruto noticed savagely. He had nice, thick, _warm _gloves and a nice, thick, _warm _jacket.

Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulder roughly and yanked Naruto's head to face his own and said: "Dead-last, I still want to talk to you about those scars."

Naruto glared. "You aren't gonna go away, huh?" Even before, Sasuke had been like this. Not stopping until he got what he wanted.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sasuke confirmed.

Naruto grimaced. "Alright, bastard," he huffed and began walking to the right. "I'm gonna freeze if I don't start walking," he informed Sasuke. Light snow was drifting down, and flakes were settling in his hair, which Naruto was sure looked pretty dumb on him. He sneaked a look at Sasuke. Of course, stupid perfect Sasuke looked like some sort of snow angel.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Where's your coat, dead-last? That hideous orange one?"

Naruto glared for a second and then moved his eyes to the front again, so he could continue walking. "Inside, and I'm not going in again. Ero-sennin'll just yell at me." He glanced over his shoulder again suspiciously. "How do you know it's orange? I wasn't wearing it when you showed up."

Sasuke's face stiffened even more for a half-second and then: "It's impossible not to notice that thing. It's bright _orange_. And I've got a photographic memory, remember?"

Naruto grimaced. "Oh, yeah." Because of his perfect memory, the bastard almost never had to study for any test. He just like, read it once and that was it. Naruto had been so jealous of that. Hell, he was jealous of that now.

"You sound like a girl, though. All fashion-y." Naruto told him, thinking of Sakura's and Ino's useless attempts to get rid of his beloved clothing.

Sasuke growled and quickened his pace, so he was even with Naruto. "Who's Ero-sennin?"

"Oh, that's just my uncle's nickname. Tsunade-baachan made it up," he told Sasuke easily, and remembered only afterward what Tsunade's and Sasuke's relationship was.

Sasuke stood still. "You know Tsunade?"

Naruto stopped, his own words ringing in his ears. He did not want to have a conversation with Sasuke about their past, not at all. Not tonight, at least. He swallowed and looked around, seeking out someplace warm. If Sasuke was the same as he was remembered, he'd want to know everything now. Spying a coffee place with a green awning and an unimaginative name (Funky), he turned to Sasuke and desperately asked: "Can we go in there first? I'm freezing."

Sasuke nodded tightly and then sighed. "Look, dead-last, if you're that cold than just take mine." He didn't even wait for an answer and it was like one of those corny romance movies, except they were never about 2 _guys, _and suddenly Naruto had a black jacket, with a Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day's heart-bomb sigil badges pinned on it, in his hands.

He pushed the jacket back to Sasuke, cheeks burning up and Kakashi's voice haunting him. _'I think my boy likes you'. _"I don't need it, we'll be inside in a second."

Sasuke shrugged and swept it back on. "Suit yourself," in his know-it-all voice.

Naruto practically jumped inside the café, once they got near enough. Still shaking and rubbing his hands together, he turned to one of the round tables in the back and immediately headed for it. Sasuke walked centimeters behind him.

He sat down in the chair closer to the window and Sasuke was across from him, two eyes as alert as alarm clocks. "How do you know Tsunade, dead-last?"

Naruto glared, opened his mouth and promptly shut it again when a waitress came by, smiling sweetly and somehow cute in round glasses. "What can I get you?" she asked shyly, her gaze skirting over to Sasuke.

Naruto felt a wave of something he didn't really feel that often, and all of a sudden Sasuke's gaze and answer were the most important thing in the world and Kakashi's statement was louder than it had ever been. _'I think my boy likes you'. _

Sasuke's expression was disdainful and bored, however. He didn't even look at her when he coolly ordered apple juice and Naruto felt the jealousy float away. Naruto asked if they had hot chocolate and she nodded and went off to get it, walking more slowly than she had when she was coming over.

Naruto didn't waste a second. "Now, as I was saying, bastard, you still haven't explained why these scars are so familiar to you." He leaned back and crossed his arms stubbornly.

Sasuke frowned. "You tell me about Tsunade first."

"No, you first."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"Me."

"Me."

"OK, if you want to so badly."

"No, asshole, I meant…! ARG! I hate you, Sasuke! I meant you but then you said me and ARG!" Naruto screamed, burying hands in his hair and screeching theatrically. How did he fall for that one? The other customers were looking at him oddly.

Sasuke smirked. "It's not my fault you repeat everything I say."

Naruto huffed and looked to the right. The girl was coming back with their drinks and once she place the steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of him, Naruto immediately covered it with his hands, loving the warmth it was giving off. Sasuke took a sip of his apple juice.

"I'll play rock, paper, scissors with you to decide," he said once the girl had left. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but agreed. "Fine."

Naruto thrust his hand into the middle of the table, eyes sparkling with anticipation. He was good at this game. Sasuke smirked and put his own hand in the middle, fingers curled into a fist.

"Rock," Naruto chanted, ignoring how Sasuke was staying silent.

"Paper," he continued, already savoring victory.

"Scissors!" he beamed, throwing his hand down to reveal fingers, wedged tightly together in the form of a rock. Sasuke's hand was split into 2 parts, 2 parted fingers a few centimeters apart.

Eagerly, he smashed his rock on to the pale hand, before Sasuke could pull it away, and smiled even more broadly when he saw Sasuke's eyebrow twitch in a sign of irritation. The smoker snatched his hand back and glared at Naruto. "How'd you know, dead-last?"

"You put your hand into a rock the second before we started," Naruto told him. "I know you bastard, and I know you think I'm dumb enough to fall for that trick and do paper. Then you would use scissors. I knew you'd use scissors, so I did rock. And I won!" he gloated, hand still a hard fist in memorial of his victory.

Sasuke actually looked somewhat impressed, but that only lasted a moment. "You know, idiot," he drawled, "eventually someone's gonna figure that out, like me now, and you won't win again."

Naruto's eyes shine. "Is that a challenge, bastard?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, the game's for kids anyway." Naruto's glory died at the insult. "You wanted to know about your scars?" he continued seriously.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, hands fisting around the mug harder in anticipation. He took a long sip, and looked at Sasuke over the rim of the glass.

Sasuke settled back in his cushioned chair comfortably and gazed at Naruto's face again. He started slowly, eyes sorta glazed over. "For starters, they're really hard to see. They're almost invisible. The first time I saw them was tonight, and I've been in Konoha High with you for 2 years since you got 'em, pl-"

"How do you know when I got them?" Naruto demanded, bounding forward.

"Because before I left, you didn't have them, dumbass, and when I came back, you had them," Sasuke shot him a can-you-really-be-so-stupid look.

"Oh." It made sense, actually.

"Anyway, I've been with you in school for 2 years, and I have a photographic memory, so I should have noticed. They're incredibly faint, which means it's been a long time since you got them, and someone used a thin knife." Sasuke concluded.

"Why's that so important?" Naruto asked, not understanding.

"Because, idiot, that's what makes them familiar. The thin knife, and the pattern, and the time since you got them. I've seen stuff like that before."

"Where?"

"You know where, Naruto. Orochimaru's." Sasuke's face and body stayed exactly the same when he said that name, he didn't wince, didn't twitch, didn't shudder, he didn't look away, didn't do anything like that and Naruto wondered how he could not do any of those things. Orochimaru's name brought back too much _stuff_, so many things there was no way to list them all so you had to use stuff, and Sasuke is as calm as if it never happened. As if the white-skinned son of a snake had never ever existed, and never fucking stole Sasuke, stole him through legal documents and bribes and the judge's 'yes'.

Naruto bit his lip, turned his head down, raised it back up again and asked softly: "He put scars like mine on other people?"

"Well, he never did it, that sick fuck Kabuto always did the dirty work," Sasuke snorted. "He even tried to have me once, but Orochimaru saw and tortured him, so he didn't try again."

Naruto frowned and dipped his finger in the hot chocolate, swirling it around because he didn't have a spoon. "Is Kabuto a middle-aged guy, but with white hair in a pony-tail and round glasses?"

"Yeah, that's him. Was he wearing purple?"

"Yep," Naruto said, remembering the lavender shade of his shirt, a stark contrast against the silver hair.

Sasuke smirked. "That's Kabuto."

Naruto nodded to himself, for no reason except to do it. He closed his eyes for a second and shuddered, instantly hating himself, because Sasuke had been through much worse, Sasuke had had to deal with Orochimaru and Sasuke hadn't _shuddered_ like a scared little kid afraid of a bee.

"So why'd he give them to you?" Sasuke asked. "What'd you do wrong?" He was leaning forward again, breaking the old rule of not having elbows on the table. The black sleeves of his black shirt were loose and too big for him at the wrists, and they were hanging off.

Naruto swallowed and bit his lip, his two nervous habits. He remembered the dark walls and narrow alley, and the screams and yells that had echoed off the walls. "While you were away, I got into a fight with some guys. Well, me and Kiba. I don't even know why. They just jumped us all of a sudden, and started punching and kicking and stuff. Kabuto had a knife and rope and he made his cronies tie me and Kiba up. I managed to give him a black eye, though." Naruto grinned. It was a small achievement, but still an achievement and Naruto always looked on the sunny sides of things.

"The he cut you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded and explained further. "Once I was all tied and bound and couldn't move anywhere, he knifed me across each cheek, three times." Naruto pointed at his cheeks, unnecessarily.

"But, Sasuke, it was so weird." Naruto continued. "He didn't pay any attention to Kiba. Its lik-"

"Wait, who's Kiba?" Sasuke interrupted him. "The fat one, the bug one, the dog one, the-"

"He's the dog one, bastard." Naruto snapped, annoyed. "He's dating Hinata. Shino is the bug one, and Chouji is the fat one."

Sasuke made an 'ah' sound and Naruto glared. "Any more questions, bastard?"

"No, go on," sounding for all the world like a king permitting a lowly peasant to wipe his shoes.

"Anyway, they didn't pay any attention to Kiba. It was like the only reason they tied him up was to stop him from messing up whatever they were doing with me. Which was, you know, knifing me. They gagged him so he wouldn't say anything, and then just left him lying there, completely ignoring him while spending like, 15 minutes on me. It was so weird." Naruto finished. "Don't you think that's weird, Sasuke?"

Sasuke glanced at him and the took a sip from his apple juice. "That's all they did?"

"Huh?"

"Is that all Kabuto did, dead-last? All he did was those cuts? Nothing else happened?" Sasuke's voice was serious and urgent at once.

"What? No. A passerby saw and called the police. Once Kabuto and co. heard the sirens, they ran away," Naruto lied easily. He'd told it so many times before, and he supposed, was as good as not looking down at his stomach when telling the lie as Sasuke was with not shuddering when someone said Orochimaru.

Sasuke looked troubled. "That's strange. Usually there's something else…" He gazed at a table on the other side of the room without really looking at it at all. After a few seconds, he snapped back, though. "About Kiba, it's not unusual. Kabuto knifes who Orochimaru tells him to knife, and that's always someone particular. He knifes important people, though I don't know why you're important."

In other context, it might have sounded like an insult, but Naruto knows better. He, for nothing better to do, drinks the hot chocolate (which is reasonably cool by now), and wonders if he'll ever tell Sasuke the truth. "Do you want to know about Tsuande-baachan now?" he asked Sasuke.

"Is that another Japanese phrase?" Sasuke asked, smirking. "You used it when we were walking here, too."

"What, baachan?" said Naruto, knowing immediately what he meant. "Yeah, it's what Ero-sennin calls her. It means 'old lady' or 'old hag'," He grinned at Sasuke. "They grew up together, Baachan and Ero-sennin."

"What does Ero-sennin mean then?" Sasuke asked, actually looking interested.

"Pervy Sage," said Naruto, grinning widely. "Because the first book he ever tried to write was about a pervy sage." Sasuke didn't grin, but the smiled and Naruto felt a little proud for that alone.

"So, how do you know Tsunade?" Sasuke asked bluntly, eyes locked to Naruto's face.

"She was your therapist, right?" Naruto asked, even though he already knew. He wants Sasuke to say it. "After Orochimaru, when you were hospitalized from all those injuries."

"Yeah, she was," Sasuke drawled. "And, no offense to your aunt or whatever she is, but she wasn't really good. Bored the hell out of me."

Naruto glared. "Everyone bores the hell out of you, asshole. She was just trying to help."

Sasuke scoffed. "She wasn't doing a very good job."

Naruto let it go. Sasuke was just like he remembered-arrogant, a loner, and refusing anyone's help. "She's not my aunt. Ero-sennin and her are good friends, and Ero-sennin was good friends with my parents. So my parents met Tsunade-baachan and they became good friends with her, especially my mom." He took a long slurp. "She used to be my nurse and now drops in time to time. I haven't seen Tsunade-baachan in 2 years, though."

"Ever since she became my therapist," Sasuke concluded himself. "Why haven't you seen her?"

"I dunno why, bastard. She just went back to Japan." This is not a topic Naruto likes to talk about, especially with Sasuke of all people, Sasuke who thinks her useless and doesn't give a damn about anyone.

Sasuke shrugs and stays silent and broods for a while. Naruto finishes his hot chocolate. They came inside the coffee shop for answers, and now that they're all answered (partly, at least), Naruto doesn't know what they're gonna do next. Kakashi's voice floats over for what seems like the 100th time. _'I think my boy likes'. _Naruto hated it, the same way he'd hated Sasuke's look when they met on the bus stop. It gave him too many ideas.

Time passes like this for 20 minutes, Naruto thinking about Sasuke, Kabuto, Tsunade and Kakashi and Sasuke thinking about God knows what. It's kinda nice, Naruto muses. Everything's so loud and violent and chaotic, it's nice sitting here with Sasuke when you don't have anything else to do, and don't have to do anything here either. Naruto put his head in his arms and lay down on the table, doing nothing but smiling, thinking and living.

The coffee shop is considerably emptier than when they first came in. Sasuke and Naruto are the only customers, besides the 2 old ladies next to the door. The window that Naruto looks out of has different scenery than when he first looked in it, and the ground is barely covered by new snow. Trees outside have black leaves instead of green.

"Dead-last," Sasuke breaks his idling. "Where do you live?"

Naruto raised his eyes from his sleeve. "City center." His words are slow and dragged; he's tired.

"How'd you get here?"

"Bus."

"How are you gonna get back?"

"Bus."

"Naruto, the nearest bus stop is 15 blocks away."

Naruto grunted.

"Look, Juugo said he'd pick me up. I'll call him and we'll drop you off. So, where do you live, exactly?" Sasuke's face is frighteningly close. Naruto can feel his breath, cool like everything else about Sasuke.

"An apartment building," Naruto manages to mumble out. "On Long road."

Sasuke pulls back and pulls out a black cell phone from somewhere and dials into it and eventually starts talking to someone on the other line. Naruto gazes at it and recalls this morning when he met Sasuke at the bus stop. He remembers the black cell phone and Sasuke's angry tone and smiles, glad to know that now Sasuke is using it to help him, not to ignore him.

A name strikes at him, a few seconds after a Sasuke spoke it, which is a mark of just how tired he is. It's a name Naruto doesn't know. "Who's Juugo?" he asks Sasuke, forgetting that he's on the phone. Sasuke puts a hand in front of his face and Naruto takes this to mean he should stay quiet, so he slumps his head back down.

Naruto kept his eyes on Sasuke's phone. The second it's away from his mouth, he asks again. "Who's Juugo, bastard?"

"A friend." The answer is short. "He's got a car and I'll be here in about 2 minutes."

Naruto smiles and yawns and falls asleep.

***********

Naruto is really a kid, sometimes, Sasuke thinks. The idiot's head is spread out on his arms, a messy nest of hay placed on arms that look to thin without the thick horrendous jacket that he left at Jiraiya's place. Sasuke remembered the way he offered his jacket, and how the tanned cheeks flared up and the very same thin arms had pushed it back at him. It was a good sign, probably. Sasuke didn't know much about crushes, and he'd have to ask Karin if it meant good news or bad news.

Heavy breathing is coming from his mouth, and his chest is slowly rising up and down, up and down. The same waitress who had took their drinks came over, mouth slightly open at the scene. "Is he…?" she strangled out wondrously.

Sasuke glanced at her for half a second. "Yeah." And then, because it's Naruto: "I can't believe the idiot fell asleep."

The waitress nodded. "Me either." Trying to start a conversation, Sasuke guessed. He went back to waiting for Juugo, ignoring her.

"Um…" the girl ventures tentatively. "Um, is he gonna stay here? We kinda need to close up…" her voice trailed off.

"A friend's picking us up," he told her, eyes narrowed and face mean. She nodded fearfully and scuttled away.

Sasuke stood up and leaned against the window, searching for Juugo's car, which was hard enough to spot in daylight. It was silver or grey, Sasuke never really knew, because silver and grey looked the same on cars. Silver or grey, it was all dark by night.

He glanced at Naruto, thinking of the story. It was all strange. Strange that Kabuto hadn't left anything else except the scars on Naruto's face and strange that he'd chosen Naruto of all people. Naruto, who was no one special, at least not to Orochimaru.

Sasuke tightened his hand into a fist and wished he had Orochimaru in front of him, so he could punch him in the gut.

A car screeched up the road; Sasuke turned his head and saw a large person, large, not fat, step out of the car and look around. Sasuke saw through the shadows orange hair and walked out the café, raising a hand. "Hey, Juugo!" he shouted and wide orange eyes swiveled over to him.

"Naruto's inside," he explained when Juugo came close enough. The older boy's hair was clean and cut, his clothes smooth, washed and clean and he most definetly did not look like the person Sasuke had seen this afternoon. He looked much better and much saner.

He told him so: "You look better." Juugo smiled, and inclined his head in the way his strict Japanese parents had taught him. "Thank you, Sasuke-san," he told Sasuke.

Sasuke turned around, a little uncomfortable by Juugo's praise, as usual. Not that the words had been anything descriptive, but the way he said it, the tone, suggested how much Juugo felt grateful to him, and it wasn't something Sasuke was used to, and it wasn't something he wanted to have. He wished most of the time that Juugo had never existed, because then life would be simpler. Sasuke just wasn't used to it.

"Can you help me carry him out?" he more ordered than asked. Juugo would do anything for Sasuke. And, besides, the only way Sasuke could think of carrying Naruto out by himself was bridal style, and no way in hell was he gonna do that. Karin had made him watch too many corny romance movies.

Juugo muttered his yes, and Sasuke watched him out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to know about Karin and Suigetsu, but was too shy to ask. The big oaf.

Sasuke walked inside, and eyed Naruto doubtfully. He looked pretty heavy. Sasuke looked over to Juugo, who looked even heavier. He let go of his worries and slung one of Naruto's arms to hang around his shoulders and thought melodramatically if Naruto would ever do this again, but when he was awake. Juugo took the other arm, wrapped it around his shoulders, and Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm with on hand, to keep it in place, and used the other arm to steady his torso. Juugo did the same, and they staggered out to the car, Naruto's head leaning to Sasuke's side, and his lips very close to his ear. Sasuke felt his cheeks warming up.

They got Naruto into the back seat of the car, and Juugo took up the driver's seat again. Sasuke sat in the back and Naruto used his lap as a headrest, the entire while mumbling incoherently. It was like one of Sasuke's fuzzy fantasies, the ones he kept making himself block out because he was so sure it would never happen. He didn't really know what do to with his hands, since they were often in his lap, but now _Naruto_ was in his lap, so he stuffed them into the pockets of his jacket and tried to make conversation with Juugo.

Neither of them were very good it at.

"Do you know where to go?" Sasuke asked after 3.22 minutes, wondering if Juugo remembered the address he'd given over the phone.

"Yes. City center, an apartment building on Long Road." Juugo recited impeccably.

Sasuke grunted and looked out the window. Streetlights are placed evenly along the road, and their bright yellow glow was moving over the car, Sasuke and Naruto. It made the sleeping boy's hair look more blonde, when the light hit it. When the light didn't hit, it looked almost brown.

Sasuke remembers Karin and Suigetsu, and Juugo's shy reluctance. "Karin isn't mad at you," Sasuke told his chauffeur, staring at the back of his head.

Juugo's shoulders loosened up, and if Sasuke was looking at his face, he knows he'd be grinning. "She isn't hurt?"

"No, she's fine. Really excited about the chocolates."

"And Suigetsu-san?"

Sasuke moved his head back to the window and laid his head against the foggy plane. "He's still a little angry." An understatement.

"Oh. I understand." Juugo stopped talking. Sasuke spent the rest of the ride in silence, looking at Naruto's mouth, which was wide and open and making heavy breathing noises and impossible to ignore. Even asleep, the idiot was loud.

Juugo broke the silence after 2.12 minutes with his slow, calm voice. "We're here, Sasuke-san." Sasuke glanced out the window and saw the apartment building Naruto had mentioned.

"Alright, now where are his fucking keys?" Sasuke muttered to himself. For all he knew, they could be in the jacket he left at that author's place. _Ero-sennin._ Naruto's word for the crazy author flashed through his mind, for some reason.

Wait a minute. When had Naruto ever said he lived alone? There could be someone at home right now. His parents were dead, but he must have some sort of guardian…Or maybe his caretaker was like Kakashi, who had pretty much abandoned his duties.

Sighing, he plunged his hands into Naruto's jeans pocket's and rummaged around for a few seconds, and then sighed with relief as he felt the cold, sturdy metal. He brought them out and squinted at the number inscribed, the poor lighting squandering his vision. 3C was barely visible and Sasuke dearly hoped the building had an elevator. He stuffed the keys into his own pocket and got out of the car, telling Juugo Naruto's apartment's location.

Juugo nodded, and using the same method they used at the café, managed to carry Naruto over to the entrance. They rested there for maybe 15 seconds, ignoring all the stares and giggles, and continued, managing to get him over to the elevator. Sasuke pushed the button with a black 3 on it, and leaned against the door, waiting. Juugo followed his example.

Eventually, the doors opened up and they hauled him through into the small, enclosed area. Once the door shut, Juugo looked at Sasuke curiously, with something close to wonder. "You really do care about him, don't you, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke's head whipped around, so he was looking at Juugo directly. This was another reason he didn't like Juugo. The man _knew_ too much. He saw all sorts of things that most people wouldn't see in 5 months, he saw it in a few seconds, and Sasuke did not want to be reminded of this one particular thing Juugo saw. "Yeah," he growled.

Juugo seemed oblivious and there was a small uplifting to his lips that was threatening to lift even more to a full smile. "Any other man you would have left to sleep in that café."

Sasuke turned his head back around. "I'll talk to you later about this, OK?" In this context, later being never.

The large man nodded and hummed to himself, and in another second, the doors were open.

Sasuke and Juugo dragged him to the apartment door, and by now Sasuke's arms were incredibly heavy and tired. He glanced at Juugo, who didn't seem even out of breath. "Hey, Juugo, lean him against the wall why I unlock the door, OK?"

Juugo did as he was ordered, and Sasuke fit the key in the lock, turned it a few times and pushed the door open. It was all dark in front of him and he sighed, blindly searched for a light switch on the walls next to him. After a few seconds he found it and Naruto's apartment flashed into awareness. The glow from the bulbs was pale and dying, not very bright. Sasuke glanced in. It looked like he lived alone. The place was pretty small.

He went back outside, grabbed Naruto and he and Juugo hauled him in, through the hallway to the living room, where they dumped him on the couch. Sasuke let his arms fall to his side. "I'm not moving him another step," he announced. Juugo also looked considerably weary.

Sasuke looked around the room. It still looked like a pretty small place. The narrow hallway that came right after the door was white and poorly washed, with a crooked painting of some mountain hanging over it. Halfway through the hallway, he now saw, (before Naruto had been completely blocking his view) was a door that branched off somewhere, probably a bathroom.

The living room had a blue carpet, a worn, aged carpet that was musty and full of dust, but did what it was supposed to, and covered the hard floor. A TV was in a corner, some more chairs, a table and bookcases full of things that weren't books. More doors led to even more rooms. An everyday home and Sasuke wished it was his. Partly because he'd live with Naruto, and partly because he couldn't stand his current mansion.

He glanced down at Naruto, who was still in a deep sleep. "I can't believe he didn't wake up," he commented to Juugo, not waiting for an answer. Sasuke dropped the keys next to him with one, graceful that didn't miss, so they landed right next to Naruto's hand. His mouth was still wide open and breathing with the force of 3 men, his hair was tussled and uncombed, with lots of static causing it to spring up in the back and his blue eyes were very firmly closed, not like the way they had been all day, bright and angry and sparkling. Sasuke preferred them open.

"He might get cold," Sasuke realized, talking to himself. It was freezing outside, and freezing inside and the idiot didn't have his jacket. Sasuke glanced around the room, looking at all the drawers and decided he wasn't gonna waste his time finding a damn blanket. Instead, he pulled off his jacket; the one Naruto had blushed at and refused; and pulled that on the forgetful idiot.

Juugo watched. "You really do care for him."

"Shut up, Juugo." Sasuke pressed cold and chapped lips to Naruto's forehead in the form of a kiss.

TBC

Again, is this too weird of a place to end a chapter? Long road is something I made up. You can just feel the creativity. Funky exists. In Dubrovnik, so uh, yeah, I do not own Funky. Or Naruto, come to think of it…Wait a second, I haven't put a disclaimer on any of my stories…Oh, fuck. Well, Naruto and Funky I don't own, Long road I really don't care who owns it. Reviews please!


	4. Chapter 4

Chap 4

Something was brushing against his neck, soft little fibers of something that Naruto didn't care enough about to recognize. They were persistent little bastards that wouldn't leave him alone, and kept tickling and feeling the bronzed skin on his neck, but Naruto is lazy even awake, and now the incompetence of sleep is pulling him down, and all he wants is to stay put and sleep.

A memory flashed, unbidden, and as annoying as the something on his neck, a memory of Sasuke sitting next to him, Sasuke as he remembered him, young in 7th grade with all the nostalgic smirks and eye-rolls and eyebrow-liftings, like the ones he did now, except not as serious and much more easy. There was one pale arm draped around Naruto's narrow shoulder, and one bloodless mouth next to his ear, whispering taunts, long hair brushing on Naruto's skin.

Naruto bolted up, hands thrown wildly in front of him in any direction, waving erratically and expecting to find Sasuke so he could give one long-lashed eye a new black color, and not just in his irises.

Of course, the bastard just has to avoid everything Naruto has planned for him, and curled fists meet harmless air.

Naruto stayed there, breathing deeply and calming himself. Why'd he think of Sasuke…?

_Oh._

Then: _The hell?_

Sasuke's boring jacket, decorated with the same Green day and Billie Joe Armstrong badges Naruto had seen before, had somehow settled on Naruto, wrapping itself around the 2 parallel columns that were Naruto's arms, hanging baggily from his shoulders, leaving his chest insultingly uncovered and replaced his green Greenpeace shirt into a fathomless black plane. The hood bunched up against his neck, and that was what was bothering him.

Naruto inhaled deeply, acting on instinct, and brought up the cotton sleeve to his nose, thinking _Sasuke. _It stank of cigarette smoke.

Naruto let it fall back, swallowing a lump in his throat. Sasuke hadn't smoked when he had known him. He brought up the sleeve again, stubborn and hopeful and refusing to give up, searching for smells he recalled from middle school, stuff like dirt and mint chewing gum. Naruto inhaled again, and closed his eyes, trying to separate the scents.

Nothing except nicotine and dry cleaning.

Naruto moaned in defeat, and drew back, bumping his fingers over the rock badges, and gave himself a small measure of simplicity and remembrance. Sasuke had always liked Green Day, all the way from 5th grade. That hadn't changed, at least.

He brought the one with the frontman's face on it close to his own face, and Naruto's accuracy evolved. He could see rare green-gray eyes set into the screaming profile, and idly wondered (Kakashi's _I think my boy likes you_ made another rebound) that if Sasuke was gay now, if he thought the singer was hot. God knows how many times Hinata had ogled at his pictures, Sakura and Ino being more poppy and with little interest in rockers who sang of death and war, unless it was Sasuke (who liked that type of music), which Naruto thought was pretty hypocritical.

Naruto had a love-hate relationship with image on the small, round piece of metal then. He supposed he liked it 'cause it reminded him of Sasukes past, but then the idea of Sasuke liking him and staring at him the same way Hinata did got on his nerves. Stupid Billie, with his green-gray eyeliner eyes and black styled hair. Naruto frowned at the photo; hating the feeling even more than he'd hated it when that girl had come over to take their order at the café.

Naruto threw the jacket in a corner, where it could rot and die.

Stretching, and with no clothing articles itching him now, Naruto opened his oral muscles and yawned, the groan vibrating through him, while rubbing his drooping eyes with drooping hands. He picked at his memory foggily and tried to guess possible guesses why he was wearing Sasuke's jacket.

The first scenario came much too quickly; that he had had sex with Sasuke and was wearing his clothes after sleeping together, the way whores did on soap operas.

Naruto panicked, imagination bursting and cheeks flaring. He grabbed at his shirt and jeans fanatically, grabbing 2 fistfuls of fabric he'd bought with his own money, and fell back on the couch in relief a second later, still clutching tightly. He breathed in and out, in and out, thinking thoughts that went against the Holy Church, stuff along the lines of Sasuke, naked, sex and erections. Naruto gulped, and looked down a second time, double-checking and practically fainting with relief when his clothes swam into view again.

Naruto twisted his eyes shut and wished for Sasuke's photographic memory.

Ok…they'd been at Jiraiya's place, Sasuke had been being a bastard, they'd been at the café, that place with the girl wearing glasses, where he'd beaten Sasuke at rock, paper, scissors and he's been yawning and holding his head on his hands, and there'd been some Juugo guy…or maybe not…and…and…and he'd fallen asleep.

Oh, shit.

Naruto catapulted up again, and groaned into his hands. He'd fallen asleep, and Sasuke had brought him home. Naruto refused to think carried.

That was why he was dumped on the couch, not in his bed, why the keys were next to him on the plush softness and not in the usual hard kitchen drawer. Naruto glanced at the calendar opposite the clock. It was a good thing Iruka-sensei wasn't due back until tomorrow from that business thingy in Japan, or that would have been horrific. Him coming home in some stranger's arms…Well, Iruka-sensei kinda knew Sasuke, but not to the point that he trusted him.

Naruto glanced towards the jacket again. Sasuke brought him home…The thought was so incomprehensible and foreign and unnaturally fuzzy for Sasuke. Naruto could imagine Sasuke doing that when they were still friends, when Naruto had known the exact shape and workings of Sasuke's obscure emotions, and when Sasuke had actually let him copy homework off him and had even attempted explaining math to him, back in middle school, but now…Now Naruto hadn't spoken to him for 2 years, excluding last night. And now Sasuke had brought him home.

Naruto made a full circle turn with his head, examining and staring at his room in detail, trying to locate any other signs that Sasuke had been here. He stopped, walked over to the bookcase and picked at a small lump of black there. It looked out of place…oh, no it didn't. That was just Iruka-sensei's box where he kept spare change. Geez, he must be getting paranoid…

"Naruto, why were you sleeping on the couch?" A familiar Japanese accent hardwired into American speaking patterns cut through the silence, as sharp as Sasuke's insults.

Naruto whirled around, hands raising themselves and flying wildly around nothing in particular, as long as they stood between whoever was standing there and himself. The second before he saw one long, vertical scar spreading across a nose, he found himself hoping it was Sasuke.

"Iruka-sensei," he choked out before averting his eyes anywhere but on said teacher. He was supposed to be back tomorrow, Naruto had counted out all the days yesterday! "You were supposed to be back tomorrow," Naruto flailed desperately, realizing a second later how this just made him sound guiltier, even though he hadn't _done_ anything.

Iruka pressed his lips together in his unsatisfied-teacher look. "I was supposed to be back tomorrow _yesterday_, Naruto. Do you know what date or day it is?" All the eyes needed were glasses, and the peering down in an unsatisfied-teacher look would be perfected.

Naruto faltered. It was Friday! Or had been yesterday, when he had gone to that café with Sasuke, which meant today was…was…Saturday. Oh, shit. The whole Sasuke-bringing him-home had thrown everything off balance.

"It's Saturday, right?" he muttered sheepishly, and kicked a ball on the ground, making it roll away. Iruka nodded tightly.

Wait, if Iruka had come home last night, he must have met Sasuke at some point. Naruto quailed. Oh God, he didn't want to imagine that conversation, Sasuke all bad-ass and arrogant, and Iruka uptight and strict and stuff. Naruto's mouth couldn't help itself, and fell at the sheer horror of that conversation. He had to ask.

"Did you…did you meet Sasuke last night?" Naruto forced himself to look at Iruka's face.

Iruka frowned. "Uchiha Sasuke? That boy who left in 9th grade? You used to be friends with him; I remember and threw a fit when he moved away. Why would I meet him?"

In a different situation, Naruto would scream and shout about how Sasuke hadn't _moved away, _how it was nothing that simple, how Orochimaru took him, the asshole, and how no one had done _anything_. And how he hadn't thrown a fit, how it just seemed that was to other people, other jackasses who had only watched and nothing else. Except Iruka is currently very angry, so Naruto leaves the argument for another time, never mind how they've already had it an unreasonable number of times before.

It's not that situation though, so he nods and berates himself for not asking a more discreet question like 'what time did you get home?', since he knew he got home somewhere around 9 or 10 or something. He had just dug his own grave and buried himself in it. Naruto gapes and opens and closes his mouth for a few moments, gives up, and just blurts everything out.

"'Cause Sasuke brought me home last night when I fell asleep at this café after going to Ero-sennin's stupid party that he made me go to." Naruto rushed out, planning to blame it all on Ero-sennin somehow. Something about Ero-sennin dragging him around everywhere and forcing Sasuke to take Naruto home because he was busy and occupied by other fans might work, though Ero-sennin would deny it all tomorrow…

"What do you mean 'he brought you home?'" Iruka demanded, gaze hard and face close.

Naruto looked to his right. "I fell asleep and he brought me home." Naruto doesn't bother to explain how, since he doesn't know how. Maybe Sasuke, with all his changes, drove a car now.

"What do you mean, you fell asleep? How did that happen?" Iruka growled suspiciously, arms crossed over his chest.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, we where in this café, and, and, I dunno, I had gotten up real early to write that math test I failed, so I was real tired. And it was real nice in the café, I had hot chocolate and it was warm and stuff and snow was falling outsi-" Naruto stopped, cheeks coloring red. It sounded like he was describing some fucking _romance_ movie.

Iruka sighed, letting his head fall down and pinched the bridge of his nose and face, forcing his eyes to come closer together, all the while sounds of great exasperation omitting from his mouth. Naruto watched the reaction nervously. He hadn't done anything, he'd just fallen asleep and Sasuke had brought him home. Iruka wasn't that strict, was he?

"Naruto," Iruka ventured after a few moments. "Naruto, I suppose this isn't that big of a deal, and I guess I'll have to thank Uchiha-san for helping you out, God knows what could have happened to you, but, please, _please, _try to take a little better care of yourself and think before you do something. Or before doing _anything_." The afterthought tightened his throat; Naruto stared at his feet, which were sporting the same Nike sneakers he'd worn yesterday.

"Ok, Iruka-sensei, I promise," Naruto looked back up with brilliant, thankful, blue eyes, messy and unwashed hair falling around his features.

Iruka stepped back, the first time in minutes Naruto had his personal space all to himself. He exchanged the it's-alright look a second later and morphed it into a glare. "But, all the same, that was very foolish of you. How did you manage to fall asleep in a _café?_ And do you have any idea all the teen horror stories that were going through my head when I first saw you? All the ones about drugs and sex and drinking?"

Naruto solemnly nodded. "I won't ever do it again."

"You'll have to cook me breakfast as punishment. I've had a long trip and I'm tired and I deserve it."

"What?! Why?! Iruka-sensei, you know I can't cook!" Naruto gazed at Iruka, not understanding. Naruto had thought him cooking was a punishment for whomever he was cooking for more than for himself.

Iruka's mouth curled into something between a smile and a mocking smile, because Iruka is simply too nice to have only a mocking smile. "You can cook onigiri, can't you? I taught you a month ago and it came out all right. It's my favorite dish, Naruto, and you're decent at it."

"You were just in Japan!" It was true; Naruto could make eatable onigiri, something that had astounded just about everyone he knew.

"So what? You have your ramen wherever we go, whether it's America, Japan or Fran-" Iruka stopped and then started again, tone curious along with reproachful. "What's that?"

Naruto followed his gaze and finger to a pile of black on the floor, haphazardly thrown nowhere with no particular guidance or idea and recognized Sasuke's jacket. He turned back to Iruka, trying to make his voice sound casual. "Oh, Sasuke gave me that so I wouldn't get cold."

This obviously doesn't make sense to Iruka. "Well, what's it doing on the floor?"

Naruto chewed his lip. "I dunno." He wasn't about to explain about Green Day and Sasuke's possible gay attractions to Billie. Or Naruto, though Naruto thinks that might be all in his head because of Kakashi's stupid _I think my boy likes you._

Iruka sighed, and ran a hand through bed-head hair, out of its usual pony-tail and a muddy waterfall over his shoulders, unkempt and unwashed. "Naruto, you need to take care of your things better, especially when they're not even your things." It's a mark of how clumsy and forgetful Naruto is that neurotic Iruka makes such a little deal out of. He doesn't even pick it back up, and just lets it rest there, walking toward the kitchen without a third glance, since Iruka always has to have a second glance.

Naruto grinned, not believing how light he was getting off. He'd been prepared for all sorts of punishments.

Right before following Iruka's footsteps, Naruto stopped, paused, and clipped off all the badges with Billie's face off, and then, following guts and instinct(he hadn't been thinking clearly since he'd seen Sasuke on the bus, why should he start seriously considering his mental health now?) hid them in his pocket.

***********

Sasuke stretched, rolled over, and came into a startlingly close proximity with Suigetsu's teeth.

"What the hell are you doing?" he grouched, lifting his had up and glaring at Suigetsu through undignified tufts of unwashed hair. He blew out, and a long askance bang drifted to the side for maybe a half second before falling back out of place.

Suigetsu grinned, just defining the sharpened white structures even more. "Waking you up." He leaned in closer. "In my house, all the freeloaders and drunks, and you being a freeloader and drunk, Uchiha, don't get to sleep later than I do. So get up." He completed the speech by slapping Sasuke across the back of his head, not hurting at all.

Sasuke groaned. "I'm never coming to your house again. And I'm not drunk." He started to sit up, the movement throwing the covers off his torso and onto his legs. When he moved his legs off the couch, and started to sit up, the blanket gave up and dropped to the floor.

Suigetsu scoffed. "Well, you could be for all the greeting you gave me. You and Juugo walk in, and you flop down on the couch, _my _couch, without saying a fucking word. Juugo had to explain about Naruto and your newfound inner Romeo." Shaking his head, he glanced at Sasuke through one eye. "I can't believe you went through that much trouble for Blondie. I never knew you were so romantic, Uchiha." A mocking smile was set on his face, and Sasuke wanted to punch him.

"And don't drop stuff on my floor, either," Suigetsu objected again, bending over to grab the blanket off the littered floor.

Sasuke scoffed. "Why not? It's already trashed."

He wasn't lying. Suigetsu's dingy, musky rented out apartment was as different from Naruto's spacious living area as a sea to a stream. The floor was a battleground and everything was fighting and shoving for space. Sasuke's bumpy couch had had bottles and papers living on it before he0d evicted them in one sweeping hand motion.

"Well, don't trash it up more," Suigetsu bristled, completely contradicting himself a few seconds later, when he aimed the sheet at a large, overflowing basket, missed, and hit a bookshelf filled with porn magazines, both straight and gay.

Sasuke grunted and reached for the remote. "Are you speaking to Juugo, then?"

Suigetsu snatched it from his hands. "No watching TV. And yes, I guess Karin convinced me."

"Why can't I watch TV?" Sasuke demanded with exasperation. Suigetsu and his crazy rules.

"I just explained this a second ago. You're a freeloader, messing up my apartment and as good as drunk. No TV, no trashing my place more and no getting to sleep after I've woken up." Suigetsu dictated. He frowned at Sasuke.

Sasuke groaned. "I never should have gone to your shitty apartment," he mumbled through clenched teeth. "You aren't gonna let me take a jacket either, are you?"

Suigetsu shook his head cheerfully. "No! And why'd you come here anyway?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I was tired, and you're a lot closer than my house. And I hate my house."

Suigetsu shrugged with casual indifference. "Good reasons, I guess. Are we skipping school, then? It's way past 8."

"It's Saturday, dumbass."

"Oh, yeah."

Suigetsu sat next to Sasuke, grabbing a container of orange juice and drinking heartily from it. "So, you gonna see Blondie again? Not today, but, you know, ever. I know how anti-social you are." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Sasuke shrugged. "Probably. I told him I'd see him today." Sasuke didn't want to dwell on that too much.

Suigetsu raised eyebrows: "Must've been some hell of a date to make you open up." When Sasuke didn't respond, he leaned in, obnoxiously close and right in front of Sasuke's face. "Did you fuck?"

Sasuke snorted. "We didn't even kiss." Suigetsu doesn't know why they even met, not because of Sasuke's infatuation with Naruto, but because of scars that look like whiskers on Naruto's cheeks, that are so obviously Kabuto's work. Suigetsu was one of Orochimaru's pets, that's where Sasuke met him, but he was never as deep as Sasuke was. Suigetsu didn't know Kabuto, or know his reputation, and that's the only mark you need to know how expendable he was to Orochimaru.

Suigetsu whistled. "Weird, considering your obsession with him for the past 4 months."

Sasuke ignored him. "I'll kiss him today."

Suigetsu chuckeled next to him, and took another swallow of orange juice. "Sure ya will."

************

Sasuke, 2 hours later, is in front of Naruto's apartment's grey door, shivering in the same clothes he wore last night, excluding the jacket. Suigetsu had remained adamant in his decision to not lend his friend anything, apparently for no better reason than to spite him.

He rang the doorbell patiently and stuck a hand into his pockets, waiting for Naruto to open up. On the inside, he heard curses and bangs, muffled by the door in front of him, and then there's someone screaming _Naruto!, _andthe door is wrenched wildly, in a poor display of taking care of your home, to the right, revealing Naruto, blonde hair tussled and blue eyes confused.

His mouth gaped open. "Sasuke…" he stammered and did nothing else, teeth chattering uselessly. Sasuke let himself in, hand still buried by a layer of denim. "Hi, dead-last."

Naruto kept his mouth open a moment longer, then pushed Sasuke back with both of his hands. "Stay out there, asshole!" he hissed, and slammed the door where he had been a second ago.

Sasuke stood where Naruto ordered him to stay, because of shock more than anything else, blinking at nothing.

Sighing, he leaned against the wall, and stuck his other hand into the other pocket. More words, and more muffled by the piece of wood shaped to be a door came in the ext few minutes. Sasuke wasn't an idiot, and he heard the _Naruto!_ scream and knew there was someone else in the apartment. Someone Naruto didn't want Sasuke to see. Or vice versa. Sasuke's mood shrank a few shades darker, and he twisted fingers into a fist inside his pocket. He wished he had a smoke.

3 minutes passed, boring and uninventive. Sasuke stared at a 2-legged table across the hall from him, where red roses in a blue vase were placed. He tried to pass the time, but couldn't think of anything.

Naruto bawled out of the room, clutching the black jacket Sasuke had forced on him to his chest, cheeks pink and rising in temperature, hair as unbrushed as Sasuke had seen it a few moments ago. He glanced around erratically, spotted Sasuke and immediately raised one quivering finger to his lips. Sasuke complied, and kept silent all the way to the elevator, where Naruto eventually slumped against the ground in relief, letting out a resounding groan of tiredness. Sasuke looked down on him. "What was that all about, dead-last?"

Naruto, predictably, didn't welcome him with much compassion or gratitude. He glared at Sasuke, lifting his head from light blue jeans and spit out angrily: "You bastard, _Iruka_ was in there!" He emphasized the Japanese name as if a girlfriend had caught him cheating on her.

Sasuke felt obligated to point this out. "So? You sound like she's your girlfriend, and she caught you cheating in her." He doesn't feel like asking himself why _this_ comparison came to mind.

Naruto sputtered out a few specks of saliva, before actually managing to talk. "He's my guardian, you bastard! He came home late last night, with me sleeping on the couch, and _your_ jacket on _me_!"

"What's so bad about that?" he asked. The elevator doors slid their metal doors open, and a woman in a miniskirt and a fishnet shirt entered, cheeks blushed to the extreme, eyes mascared so that a man could spot it meters off. She stared at Sasuke, and nervously twirled a lock of bleached hair, leaning against the elevator wall just like Sasuke was, lifting her legs a little.

Sasuke stopped paying attention at this point. He gazed back down at Naruto, who still hadn't answered his question. The blue eyes were hazily staring at the slut in front of him, and Sasuke felt a rush of uncharacteristic and explainable jealousy. He abruptly sat down next to Naruto, and bumped his elbow into the pervert's stomach, leaning toward his ear, just like he used to, in a moment so startlingly familiar and natural, that Sasuke stops, mouth barely parted in words he was going to say, lost in memories and empathy.

Naruto looks at him. "What is it, bastard?"

The feeling lasts maybe a second, and Sasuke recovers. He swallowed and let the words in his head breathe in the open air. "What're you staring at her for?"

It's probably the first time, and Sasuke intends to make it the last time, he's spoken on instinct, without thinking about consequences or actions that could follow.

Naruto breathes out, his sky-blue eyes twinkling. He turns his head back into the crook between his two skinny knees, and whispers something there. The blonde, natural hair draping itself against his cheeks doesn't do much to hide the magenta splotches, and Sasuke smirks at the blush.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Naruto beat him too it, and bright, ashamed, clear snatches of sky stared him down. "'Cause she's looking at you, asshole!" It's a shout, and it's whispered, and the whore hears them.

Sasuke blinked back, surprised more than anything else, but then there's long and sharp fingernails digging into his cheek and his head is snapped around to meet green eyelids, brown eyes and black bags in the most hideous combination he's ever seen. "You're friends' got it right, "she slurred. Naruto, next to him, had lips pressed into a line and hands rebelliously shaking

"Well, he's not interested!" Naruto barked out, head swiveling around to Sasuke a desperate second later, seeking confirmation. "Fuck off," Sasuke added, smirk playing around the edges of his mouth. Naruto grinned.

The whore's mouth slacked open into an O, clearly not used to being refused. The door behind her _binged_ and revealed the ground floor, so Sasuke grabbed Naruto by his arm and jumped out. They were out in fresh air in a few seconds, and Sasuke snatched away his jacket from Naruto's arms, putting it on immediately in the cool air.

Naruto sighed. He looked at Sasuke curiously. "Does that stuff happen to you a lot, bastard?"

"Pretty much," Sasuke answered carelessly. He glanced over to Naruto, fully intending to use the idiot's newfound care for him. "Why was it such a big deal?"

Naruto froze. "It just... it just was. OK, bastard?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, it isn't."

Naruto whipped his head around angrily, radiating defense. "Well, why was it so important that I was looking at her?!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Because, dead-last, she's a hooker." It's a crappy reason, and Naruto is going to point that out in his next breathe, so he thinks of Karin's lectures about true love and all that shit about having to make the first step and gives in, he elaborating a little bit. "And because I don't want you to."

Naruto stumbles over a pebble, waves his arm wildly, gains precious balance back and yells. "Why the fuck should I do what you want me to?!"

Sasuke glanced at him. He was furious and embarrassed at once, and the pink on his cheeks had now evolved to a full-out fire of red, and his next words were just going to make him more furious and more embarrassed, but Sasuke can't think of anything else to say, "Because."

His mouth tightened. "Because _why_, asshole?"

Sasuke glanced away, to the side. He's not gonna tell him here, on the sidewalk, in front of everyone. "Follow me," he told Naruto reluctantly. He pointed with a shivering finger, missing the warmth of his pocket, to a park, with trees that had no leaves on them. "I'll tell you there."

Naruto squared his jaw stubbornly. "Why not here?"

"Because it's a private matter, idiot," Sasuke can't believe this. Naruto really had no tact.

Naruto growled, and walked noisily behind Sasuke, but at least he walked, and Sasuke was grateful for that, at least. He thrust his hands into his jacket pockets, and didn't feel the usual graze of fingertips over hard metal. He glanced down, narrowed his eyes, and looked over to Naruto. Half his badges were missing.

"Naruto…" he growled out. "What'd you do with my jacket?"

"I didn't do a thing to your jacket!" Naruto answered quickly and loudly, which did nothing except to convince Sasuke.

"The hell you didn't," he snapped. "Where'll all my badges then?" He caught Naruto's face with his eyes, and held it there. Naruto broke off, glared to the left of him and drew out a small handful of all his missing ones.

They all had Billie Joe Armstrong's face on them.

Sasuke dumped them in his own pocket and looked at Naruto. "Why'd you take them, dead-last?"

Naruto glared. "You like that guy, right?" There was a childish attribute to the rhetorical question. Naruto had his arms crossed, and he was sulking with a disappointed and mad look on his face, eyes watching nothing to his right.

"Yeah, I do." Naruto should remember this; back when they were still in middle school, he'd still been obsessed, and that hadn't changed, even with Orochimaru.

"But, but, do you like him?" Naruto pressed. "You know, like _him_. Not the rest of the band, just _him_?"

Sasuke, amazingly, saw through the unclear meaning. "Yeah, I just like him. Who wouldn't?" Suigetsu and Karin agreed wholeheartingly on this matter, and Sasuke was marginally sure Juugo was asexual.

Naruto looked to the side and didn't offer up any more explanations, but Sasuke understood. It was obvious, with the clenched teeth, lowered eye lids and attempts at a look of indifference. Sasuke had seen it on rejected girls many times before, but know he wasn't quite sure what to do with it when it was on Naruto's face. He decided to ignore it and just go along with the original plan; this could only mean good news, right?

The rest of the 6 minute walk passed in uncomfortable silence, with Naruto and Sasuke both staying stubbornly silent. Sasuke watched for the brown and forked branches of leafless trees and when he spotted one, motioned for Naruto to hurry up. There was no one else in the park, which was what Sasuke was hoping for. No one to hear anything, this way.

Sasuke sat down against a tree. "Dead-last," he started with an insult, because that's how things always start with Naruto and this is such foreign ground he doesn't know what else to do. It's one of the few things Sasuke acknowledges he's helpless at. "Dead-last," he repeated again. "Um…" His mind comes to a standstill.

Naruto takes over. "Sasuke, you know your foster dad? That weird guy with a mask?" Sasuke started, surprised. Kakashi. "What about Kakashi?"

"Well…" Naruto sat down next to him and fiddled with his shoelaces. "Well, you know last night? At Ero-sennin's party?" Sasuke nodded, smiling slightly at the ridiculous nickname. "He said…" Naruto took a deep breathe, filling his lungs in the way people do when they're about to do something that'll make them nervous. "He said…he said you liked me."

Sasuke's first thought was _fucking Kakashi._

His second was _Shit! He knows._

And then panic came.

He stayed the same, he didn't jump away, didn't start babbling and making up excuses, didn't laugh obnoxiously, didn't start crying like a kid or anything similar to that, but he was terrified, and he didn't know why. His fingers and hands were trembling inside his pockets, and his heart, his goddamned fucking heart he'd tried to get rid of, was thudding, not with emotions, but mostly with memories, memories and scenarios of what could come. Sasuke kept his face in check, kept his mask the same way he's kept it for years, but everything else is stupidly reacting to Naruto's words.

Naruto was looking at him, staring at him with energy, some sort of remarkable energy, that sparkled and shone and danced in his eyes, but held back on his face, in his arms and legs. "Sasuke…" he started again, voice slow. "Sasuke, its true, isn't it?"

Sasuke stared ahead.

Naruto spoke urgently now, rushed and excited, and there was that energy he'd seen a minute ago spilling into his words. "It's gotta be true, Sasuke, 'cause if it wasn't true, you wouldn't have gotten all bitchy about that girl. I know it is. Come on, Sasuke, tell me!"

Sasuke scuffed the ground with his hands, the brown dirt leaving smudges on pale, unblemished skin. This is what he had wanted, wasn't it? Plus, he'd told Suigetsu he'd kiss Naruto today. "Yeah," he told Naruto, voice impossibly low and controlled. "Yeah, it's true."

Naruto smiled, his great, loud, talkative mouth stretching and pulling into the biggest sign of joy Sasuke has gotten from him in 2 years. He gazed at Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes, and whispered: "Really?", like it was something strange, like Sasuke hasn't felt like this for 4 months, like he can't believe it.

"Really," Sasuke confirmed, and looked at Naruto again, and kept looking at him, not turning his head away like he's done too many times before.

At the end of it all, it's Suigetsu who gives him the initiative.

Suigetsu, laughing and telling him sarcastically _Yeah, sure ya well_ with the indifference of someone who has known you for too long and knows your habits and what you nearly always do.

Sasuke leans in, Naruto not noticing a single thing, Naruto still ignorant in bliss, smiling and humming to himself, then Sasuke leans in, and pushes his mouth forcefully to Naruto's.

Sasuke's lips collide into Naruto's with all the clumsiness of someone who's only ever fucked before, only given blowjobs and handjobs, never actually kissed someone before, except against his will, and he's blocked those memories out anyway.

He lifts one hand on the back of Naruto's neck, at the bottom of his hair, and uses that as leverage to keep Naruto's head in place, forcing him closer and closer, and, oh God, Naruto tastes so good, fresh and warm, fresh and warm and _so fucking sweet_, and it's much better than Sasuke's dreams and fantasies, and right now he hates breathing, and prolongs it as much as possible.

Naruto moaned, a small, barely hearable sound that Sasuke could have missed easily, but the fact of the matter is he didn't miss it, and it just enflames his desire even more, and a little moan of his own is sliding out his lips, which seems to encourage Naruto greatly, if the two strong hands on his hips and lidded eyes are any indication. His teeth bite down accidentally on Sasuke's lips, Sasuke knows it's accidental because he whispers a muffled 'sorry' a second later, but Sasuke doesn't care and it feels _good_. He pushes him in closer.

Naruto breaks off panting; gulping in long pockets of air, and Sasuke is having none of it. "Breathe through your nose, idiot," he whispered harshly and impatiently, using both hands to pull him in closer, wildly moving inside Naruto's mouth, because it can't decide exactly which part of Naruto's mouth it wants to be in, it can't stay still, and everywhere it's the same, everywhere it's perfect.

Snow falls around them, the same way it did last night.

Sasuke does not feel the cold.

TBC

Well, whaddya think? The kiss scene is my fav. Oh, and I'm gonna be in Austria skiing, starting tomorrow, so, yeah, for a week I won't have access to a computer, since my laptop is fucked up. It's got some virus or something… Reviews please!


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